


Lost boy

by Padds



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Demon Zoro, Different Dimensions, Gift Giving, Haki, Love at First Sight, M/M, Obsessive Behavior, Pirates, Portals, Primitive behavior (Zoro), Sign Language, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Stalking, The Baratie, Wings, angel sanji, children to adults
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-04 14:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12170580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Padds/pseuds/Padds
Summary: At the top of the mountain, Zoro stared up at the little angel, wishing he could comfort him.At the edge of the cloud, Sanji was staring down at the little demon, wishing he could stroke the marimo on his head.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!
> 
> This is a little demon-angel AU I've been thinking of for awhile, so I finally decided to write it down. 
> 
> It will probably not be very little, meaning it might just become a big project with 10+ of these chapters since I'm already working on a second and thinking of a third one.
> 
> I hope you like it!

Chapter one-finding a boy

•••  
Why the fuck am I running? Zoro thought.

It was unnecessary, really. Running through these woods, branches and sticks in the way, whipping his skin as he ran away from the small dojo at the foot of the mountain.

The forest was dense and dark, rotten trees and dead animals all over the place. Forests like these would frighten humans enough to know to stay away. 

He wasn't human though. 

Another dead tree fell down in front of him. Years of training had made his body able to jump heights a small boy his age should not be able to withstand. Yet he could but he knew she could jump twice the height he just had.

Why did that happen? Why would she do that? Why am I holding this damn thing? He wondered.

“Katana, not thing.” He could hear her whisper in his mind. Why was she there? She was good, she shouldn't be able to have any contact with him anymore.

No contact, right, ever again. Never again would they sparr, never again would they bicker. He would never see her holding the very sword he was holding right now, running through the woods looking like a complete maniac.

“Katana!” She seemed to scream in his mind.

“God damn it.” He growled out.

“Language!” She scolded.

“Shut the fuck up!” 

He came to a halt. It was so real. Her voice was so clear. Why was that? She should be with the angels or whatever happened to the dead. She was so good, why was she with him?

As his breath came out ragged and his vision blurred, his eyes began to water. Were these tears? This liquid dripping down his chin, completely fucking with his vision?

He didn't like them, he decided. They were just in the way. Things being in the way would not do him good he told himself as he wiped the tears away. They would not help him becoming the world's greatest swordsman. Because he would, just as he promised Kuina. 

Just as he promised before she died.

•••

Zoro clutched the white katana in his hands as he walked the last bit up the mountain under the large trees before he could start flying. He really shouldn't have ran up the damn mountain, flying was so much more easier. The running had really helped him calm down though so it wasn't all bad.

The woods had cleared out but the sky was getting darker quicker than he anticipated. He would have a hard time heading home. Maybe he should've listened more when Torao explained the anatomical changes in the body while passing through a portal, there should've been a complicated explanation of the creation of portals in there too. Or maybe not, he often tended to stick to the near-death or even better, death, part.

Staying in the human realm wasn't a problem for Zoro, the matter was when someone should notice he was gone and come get him. Portals were never his strongest ability and most of the time his portals turned out to lead him to places he had never even been to, like stupid Mihawk’s castle.

He could rest at the top of the mountain for a while, at least until the sun came up and his friends would stop with the kills and be able to get him.

He stretched his dark, leather wings and jumped up high to give himself a little boost, then he was up in the air, letting his wings carry him up the rest of the way. Flying was always a good thing to do when he wasn’t feeling well.

As he kept flying, Zoro realized he had never flown this high before. He had never been able to see the lights the angels realm emitted before. Nor had he wanted to. From what he had heard they weren't very friendly with demons.

Their realm was all light and shiny with sparkles on top, Zoro could see that just by the ‘holy light’ as he reached the top of the mountain. He knew humans couldn't see it, nor could they see him or the angels for that matter, at least not if they wanted the humans to. 

Koshiro was allowed to see him, even though the elder demons had told him it was dangerous. Zoro liked the human, he taught him a lot of things about kendo that didn't only involve killing and hunting. Many different techniques and wisdoms had been shown to him during his stay. If he hadn't allowed Koshiro to see him he probably never would have gotten so close to Kuina either.

Large crates formed by what looked like impacts from battles decorated the mountain top. Zoro started looking in some of them for somewhere to sleep, he shouldn't be thinking about Kuina anymore. The mountain top had a large flat surface too and he could see a few small caves. It was a good place to calm down. 

He walked to the closest cave, a rather tiny one with a few dead bats inside, they would make for a good snack. 

He took the ones that looked fresh enough and walked out again, opened them up with his canine teeth and took out their hearts to eat. They were cold and tasted like the mud the bats were laid in, bitter and dry but at least he wouldn't go hungry for the night.

Once again, Zoro found his gaze fixated on the light. The shadows of angels moved quickly on the clouds, they seemed to be dancing. If he focused well enough, Zoro could hear the distinct sounds of laughter and music playing. It. Was unusual that he saw or heard other people’s festivities so he decided to spy in a little longer.

He knew the angels had a larger realm than his people did, floating on top of everything did that by nature he supposed. Still, it was rather strange the angels had the clouds too, no one could live on them, since they moved and disappeared into nothing after a few hours, nothing could grow on them either. They were just a place for them to party. 

Zoro knew many small demons who didn't have a home due to all the warriors patrolling the gray terminal, killing most demons or wrecking their homes instead of they weren't in the mood.

The majority of demons were furious with the differences between the two species, Zoro was becoming one of them, hearing stories about the many luxuries the angels had; bathing in riches, affection, parties every night, hunting every day, larger realms, respected and adored by the humans and therefore welcome to the human realms too.

Then there were the people; snobbish and materialistic from the twinkling diamonds and whatnot they received from the humans but still kind enough not to start a war. However he was sure, if there would ever be a war, the demons would win. 

A smaller shadow walked into his view. He hadn't noticed he was glaring hard enough to activate more of his observation haki than he intended and could see the small shadow rather clearly. The larger shadows must have noticed their company too, they stopped moving and began to crouch down, one by one. He could see the shadow of the boy walking closer, out of the cotton-like clouds. If the little angel continued Zoro would be able to see them, maybe they could see Zoro. 

The thought was a little unnerving to Zoro. He had never seen an angel before, the stories he had heard certainly didn't tell him good things. 

“Angels, despite their looks, kill more demons in a day than we can count.” Kuina had read him that from an old book she stole from the underground once. She liked the angels, thought it was amazing that they were strong while the people thought they would be weak. She only disliked the male angels but then again, she disliked all males, including himself.

Zoro decided he would wait this out. If they chose to fight, then he would fight. If they couldn't even see him, he would just watch them instead. So he focused on his observation haki, even though it started to mush his brain inside his skull, and waited for the little angel to show.

He had been expecting something else entirely as the little angel came into view. The boy was small, thin and he walked with his head down. His hair rested on his head like a blob, a yellow stupid looking blob, messy and unkept.

It was strange that the larger angels resumed their dancing as soon as the boy was out of their eyesight, mostly because of all the bandages around his body. He looked so hurt, why weren't the larger angels concerned?

Limping a little closer to Zoro's view, he could see the bandages covered most of the boy's body. Wrapped tight around his head, around his legs and one of his arms.

On his back sat two large wings, also covered in bandages. The boy didn't even look like he could fly right now. He was so vulnerable, if he fell down the cloud he would no doubt be dead. 

He stared for a little longer, intrigued by the angel. The boy was nothing like the stories he had heard about the glowing, magical creatures.

He looked about Zoro's age, a little younger perhaps. He wouldn't know though, for all he knew angels could have a lifespan like the humans but he found it unlikely.

The boy jumped slightly from cloud to cloud, failing as he landed only to get up and start jumping again. It was interesting how he could walk on them like soil and Zoro found himself wondering if he would also be able to walk on them.

He started sprinting, or rather skipping, as he landed on a huge cloud, running to the edge and jumping to the next one again. He kept on jumping and sprinting until he seemed to be tired and sat down to rest.

Zoro didn't understand. Was this what angels did during their free time, or was this boy just crazy? He was hurt, limping, and suddenly the boy could sprint?

He couldn't see the boy very well as the boy was sitting down, the clouds created some sort of mist around him.

Minutes went by and the boy was still sitting down on the fluffy white cloud. The mist had mostly cleared away so Zoro could see the boy a little better but he still wanted the boy to rise up and continue jumping around. He found it quite amusing to watch despite its stupidity.

He shifted his gaze away from the boy in what felt like hours, it probably wasn't very far off in truth. His gaze wandered over to the night sky instead. Dark, big, and lonely, as always. 

He never liked going to the human world to practice under the starry nights unlike Kuina did. The first time he had seen stars had been because Kuina had been training at night, so he challenged her to a sparring match which of course, was a failure.

Now as he looked upon the stars he found himself hating them. They just reminded him of her and he didn't want that. He didn't want to remember the feeling of guilt and sorrow. It only took a few hours to shut away the feelings so he couldn't have done it properly. He really didn't need something like this.

A little yellow mop of hair started to move and Zoro thought about how lonely the boy, just like the infinite sky, was. Just like he was.

Sympathizing with an angel was a big no-no, Zoro knew. Yet the tiny, fragile boy was so much like himself in the moment, he just wanted to fly up there and give him some company. Stupid, stupid! What was he thinking? Company? Roronoa Zoro did not give company. Yet here he was, thinking about holding the poor angel in his arms in an attempt to give him warmth in the cool night.


	2. Know Thy Enemy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! 
> 
> First I want to thank you for the kudos you left and the comments you wrote, they truly made my day and I haven't been able to think of much else really. 
> 
> Please continue to leave comments, constructive criticism is always welcome here and since this chapter is a little different than the first one, I think I'd really need it.
> 
> To the people who are interested; the third chapter is almost done and it will be posted this week.
> 
> Enjoy!

When he walked, they bowed down, when he waved, they showered him with gifts. So he stopped waving.

Sanji hated it. He knew they only gave him gifts because they were afraid of him and the blood in his veins. What kind of punishment would the great Vinsmoke Judge cast upon the skypieans if he knew they ignored his precious son? Would their homes be taken from them if they didn't give him the finest gifts? Would the thousands of soldiers devoted to the Vinsmoke bloodline raid their village of food if they didn't welcome him with open arms? He didn't know, didn't want to know. So he stopped going to the villages, stopped seeing people, because they just thought he was a nuisance.

The lonely heart in his chest started beating faster as he saw common angels down on the loose cumulus clouds. They were dancing, singing, laughing… what was that like again?

One of them saw him, or rather they saw the tiny golden 69 emblem pinned above his racing heart. They knew it was supposed to be 66, everyone in the north would know as soon as they saw. His father only made one of the “6” flipped upside down to create a makeshift circle to show them that Vinsmoke would always continue, Vinsmoke was the strongest family to be alive and would only become stronger the next generation and even stronger the one after that. When one “6” went down, another “6” would rise.

The skypieans were bowing now, great, just what he wanted. He tried to walk a little faster, politely denying their desperate gifts and apologies.

 _“Just a little longer.”_ he thought. _“A little longer and I can have my escape.”_

Said escape was not much. A perfect spot to stare up at the sky. Nothing more, but somehow it meant so much to him. To sit at the end of the world he knew, and just stare. Perhaps it was a cry for help, some kind of failed plan to end his life of 106 years since he had already tried to jump once 20 years prior to that, the day his dear mother died. He got scared and flew up again after 70 meters of falling.

Whatever it was he enjoyed it a lot, if it was him being suicidal he better enjoy it till the end.

Usually, he would spread his wings as he was sprinting to the edge of the cloud, preparing to jump. Though he doubted one could fly with broken wings, so he jumped instead.

From one cloud to the next, the wind blowing in his hair and making his eyes water from all the pressure. His feet hurt but it didn't matter, he was flying now, nothing else mattered.

A grin stretched across his face as he could see the altocumulus shattered around and above the cumulus clouds. They didn't have the dense kind of middle as the latter so no one could walk on them. It meant it was time for him to slow down so he wouldn't fall down.

Thick mist flew around him as he landed. A grin was still slapped on his face as he sat down to watch the sky but something else caught his eye instead of the twinkling stars.

There was someone down on the mountain.

He laid himself flat across the small cloud, bringing his hand down in the cloud to create a little peek hole so he could look at the person down there.

His observation haki was weak compared to his siblings, something they often hit him for along with everything else he did wrong but he could still see better than the average angel.

Staring down at the person he gasped at the sight. It was a little demon boy! His wings weren't like his own, fluffy with feathers and emitting a blue hue. This boy's wings were rough, scaly at the tip with a little claw. A little bat-like he thought as he compared the wings with the image of a bat he had seen in a book.

Just when he didn't think the moment could be more special he noticed the way the moon shone down and lit up the boy's hair.

 _“A marimo demon!”_ Sanji thought in delight. One of his many gifts had been a marimo, brought to him from Japan in the human realms. The humans hadn't discovered them yet so the angels took care of them until they did. He liked them a lot and had shown it to his mother who cheerfully told him they needed lots water to survive.

He suddenly grew concerned for the demon. If he was a marimo demon then shouldn't he be in the water? Then again their bodies was mostly made out of water and if the marimo demon indeed was a marimo then he would be able to store water somewhere when he liked to go out of the water. Though that would mean he would always have to return to the water, just like Sanji always had to return to the castle, even if they didn't want to.

 _“Well isn't that strange?”_ , Sanji thought as he finally sat up to watch the stars. _“I have more in common with a demon than I have with my own blood.”_

•••

The chill that crept up his arms from the cold night was nothing like the chills he got from the basements in the castle.

The guards told him to follow them and led him down the large, dark stairway. He had never been down the basement before so he looked forward to it slightly, but now that he was there, it was just plain creepy.

Spiderweb decorated the walls, the light of the sun didn't show since there wasn't any windows and a large cell stood in front of him.

They pushed him in, locked his head in some sort of metal cage which only made his neck scream from the heavy weight it was now forced to carry. When he cried out for his father, his dear father because he would surely get him out of this, it was only a prank his brothers pulled on him yet again, he was told this was his father's doing. That he never wanted to see Sanji again. He was a disappointment and Vinsmoke Judge would rather have him dead.

It was the first time in 20 years Sanji had cried himself to sleep.

•••

_March 2nd_

_It's my birthday today. The guard who brings down food sometimes said so. I didn't even know, must've been too busy cooking._

_My dear brothers came in today, as usual, and flipped one of the bowls I had dough for bread in. It was really good dough too. Fluffy but not dry, just like the book said it should be. It didn't hurt as much when they kicked me today, I think I finally got used to it like they said I would._

_I wonder if they're ever going to get tired of beating be. Maybe they will when they grow up. ~~I might be strong then so I can fight back a little.~~_

_I think it's been 5 months now, Reiju said we're going to travel across the red line for a few weeks_.

Rattling sounds came from the bowl on the ground behind him. He laid down the feather pen the guards gave him together with his journal.

His friends had come back for more food and cuddles. Two brown rats stared up at him with their shining dark eyes. They were asking him if it was ok for them to eat the dough. He didn't know why he understood them without hearing a word they said but he did.

He smiled slightly, it didn't show through his mask but the rats knew and started to dig in, squeaking as their nimble paws got stuck in the dough. They ate quickly, cheeks puffing out, filled with food. One of them ran off but came back with a three other rats to have them eat too. They were smaller than the other two, a little cuter, must've been their children. Sanji found it strange how rats could have a better family than angels.

This would be the second time in 21 years he fell asleep crying. This time with a rat nibbling at his finger.

•••

His fingers were a pale yellow, the skin cracking where he had moved them too much, his nails were too big for his bleeding fingers and lord did they hurt. The veins in his body bulged out, since the fat was gone.

Muscles decaying, his stomach seemed to spill the very acid it was trying and failing to protect, his eyes were dry, feathers were falling off, his ribs hurt just by moving, his throat felt as dry as his skin, his belly didn't know whether to bulge in from the lack of food or bulge out in the need of food.

Every single thing he had complained about for weeks was nothing in comparison to the pain Zeff was in.

Zeff’s leg was worst. It wasn't the same red-pink color he knew flesh and meat was. He had cut up and cooked many types of meat in his cell and on Orbit. None of them was the same purple-black Zeff’s leg was. And he had done that for him, gave him his food and ate his own leg.

As they were carried on the boarding cloud, Sanji couldn't tear his gaze away from the… pirate, he thought Zeff had called himself.

Said pirate was on his front, his wings being too broken to lay on, Sanji's wings were better off but they still put him to his side. His eyes struggled to stay open, somewhat surprised they were saved after all. He kept on mumbling to him; “Little eggplant. See Little eggplant? I told you to stay on your side of the cloud.”

He made a promise to himself; he would follow and repay this pirating angel for his kindness. He would give his live since Zeff had saved his. Somehow while doing that, his dream-their dream must be fulfilled.

All blue was the reason he was alive right now. All blue was the reason Zeff had saved him. Zeff saved him because he saw something in him, believed in the same thing he did-believed in All blue.

If he had any liquid left in his body, he would cry.

•••

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think? 
> 
> Anything I can do better? Should I continue to write from Sanji's perspective or just stick to Zoro? Is the aging weird? What do you think? I want to know! 
> 
> See you next time, thank you for reading!


	3. I Spy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eight months was a long time for Zoro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome back!
> 
> This is the third chapter of Lost Boy, now from Zoro's little eyes.
> 
> I haven't read any complaints yet, only your lovely comments, so I'll just keep going like I've planned this out.
> 
> Again, this chapter is a little different than the last two, there's actually some dialogue in this one.
> 
> Enjoy reading!

Lately, observing the angels was something he did until until the skies darkened.

He knew the humans didn't like when everything went black and went inside to wait for the brightness to return, something he thought was a bit foolish since most demons only preyed when humans were tired and in the comfort of their homes.

He especially enjoyed the frightened look on the human's faces as he would pounce on them in the middle of the night. Seeing the red cover his katanas as they shone brightly under the moonlight. The screams his victims would cry out were usually of stupid men doing stupid human things but nonetheless absolutely glorious. He often heard a little demon child of merely 106 years, should not be playing with their food in the same sadistic way he did.

Kuina had taught him once during hunting that human children were as innocent as the ground they walked on and therefore, they should not be killed to feast upon. Women with bellies way too big for their bodies were also out of question, along with people who didn't project any kind of danger. Which left him with the adults who had too much to drink, were too stupid to fight another, or lurked around the villages a little too much.

It was different from the lessons Mihawk had taught him, since Mihawk didn't need to eat nearly as much as he did and when he did eat, only a cut up animal with some greens decorated his plate, together with his stupid glass of wine. That stupid… _delicious_ glass of wine…

The only lessons of hunting he received from Mihawk was “not to disturb him while hunting” and “the humans will only hate you for eating them and move, so you best only eat the free animals”. Though he didn't complain when he killed the humans who were a little too ignorant for their own good, only sipped his wine and told him to clean up all the blood.

The little angel boy he saw a couple of months ago was nowhere to be seen, so Zoro wondered if he perhaps had fallen off a cloud after all. He was skinny and hurt after all. He could probably use one of those cows Mihawk ate.

The possibility of him coming back to the mountain top almost every night to be because of this angel boy he only saw once was… very high.

So he was completely smitten with someone he only caught a glimpse of. What now? He had checked in books - actual fucking books - for some kind of way to fly up to the angel’s realm only to find out that it was a fucking _portal_ between the human realm and the angel's, it only showed what he couldn't even reach! Tempted him with all their sparkles!

Very few demons could fly up there, and they had to be “welcomed” by the gods.

The strange thing was that during the eight months he had been sitting and waiting for the boy to show, he hadn't seen any angel, at all.

He had read in the portal book, which was way too big, that some angels could conceal them self if they had enough power to do so. Stupid glitter boy better not have done that.

As he grumbled and cursed the boy for being plain stupid, he could have sworn he saw a fish floating in the sky. And holy fuck was he right. It was a damn fish alright, but it wasn't alive, it was made out of planks.

The plank fish was floating on top of a cloud, but it wasn't like the other clouds surrounding it. The cloud itself did not move, it seemed to function by the bubble thing at the bottom of it. There were propellers at the back of the fish and oars at the sides.

Though the floating fish paled as the boy, _the mother fucking boy_ _he'd been looking for,_ jumped off it and landed on a seemingly normal cloud.

Zoro flew to another mountain, he would follow the boy, see if something would be happening to him.

The little boy waved and said something to the plank fish or maybe the people on the plank fish, he didn't care either way, the boy could talk to the inanimate object all he wanted and Zoro would never think it was strange. Zoro waited patiently for the boy to do something, to talk again, move so he could see if he was alright because he just wanted to know if the little sunshine boy was okay.

Then he started walking and Zoro sharpened his haki a little more, just so his head started to become a little fuzzy.

His strides were more confident, he didn't limp anymore or have that sad aura around him. Zoro's body relaxed as he could see actual skin and not just bandages covering every part of him.

He wondered what he sounded like. Would his voice be high and childish like his or would it be deeper? Would his wings be as soft as they looked like? Would he look at him like he looked at the sky that one night? Maybe not, he wasn't particularly beautiful as the sky but maybe he would at least look at him, even if it would just be to stare at him in disgust.

The sky was shifting to soft pinks and oranges. Leaving Zoro wishing it could stay like that forever because as the boy turned around to look, he caught the deep blue orbs in his eyes. Even if the boy was staring at the cloudy sky, it felt as though he was staring right at Zoro.

The boy walked into the last rays of sunlight, warm colors spread across his body and he stopped and stared right at the sun as Zoro stared at the boy with wide eyes.

It was not only the pure white that covered his fluffy wings, it was also covered by an intense glow of marine blue. His wing were so different than the other ones he read about. The other ones were silver or white, not like his majestic blue ones, absolutely not like his.

Okay, so the boy’s wing were blue... _What the fuck?_

The boy’s wing drew him in. He wanted to touch them and to feel the blue glow with his own hands, if he was even able to feel it at all. The leather on his back were nothing compared to the boy’s timeless shine.

Could he do something with those wings of his? Or were they just there to look pretty and bring out the blues in his eyes a little more than Zoro thought to be necessary. He never thought pretty was something he could associate anything with. The only compliment he ever gave anyone was to Kuina and Luffy; strong. Pretty had not been a word he ever even uttered before but now it fit in perfectly.

The little angel with the blue wings was really, really pretty.

They stayed still like that. The boy watching the sunset and Zoro watching the boy.

As the last light fell across the boy's face and the wing’s faded back to white, Zoro decided it was time to return home, his eyes hurt from his continuous use of haki. The boy looked to be heading home to the fish too.

He moved quickly, flying down to the village and searched for the spot Mihawk had opened the portal. It was supposed to be easy to find but humane ground confused him to no end, how did they manage to move the houses around each time he came back?

By the time it was pitch black Zoro found the portal, small but noticeable. He jumped in and found himself at the feet of a frowning Mihawk, of course he fell face first again.

“You need to practice your landing.”

“Shut up.” Zoro said as he brushed himself off.

Mihawk’s castle truly fit his heritage. His damn parents must have known their son would be a fucking vampire in the womb.

“You were gone for a long time-”

“Why do some wings glow?” Zoro interrupted.

Mihawk scowled.

“The great ones have powers that can sometimes go into their wings. This ‘glow’ you speak of is an aura that speaks to their heart.”

“Do everyone have blue glows?”

“No… not a lot of them do these days.”

“Why, is it bad?

“Why the sudden interest?”

Zoro shrugged.

“This guy had blue glowing wings, I've only read about white wings.”

He avoided telling Mihawk about the way he had searched for the boy for eight whole months or the way said boy practically had him wrapped around his finger even without ever speaking to the boy.

“There are books about the great one's auras, their weaknesses and strengths. You should read it.”

Zoro groaned. He knew Mihawk was trying to get him to become more educated by forcing books about the undead, angels, humans and manipulating spirits on him. All to make sure he could defeat them in the future.

Fuck those things, he just wanted to defeat Mihawk.

Still he went into the library, searched for the book and skimmed through the pages until he found pictures of angels with strange patterned colors around them.

He read quickly, not caring about the long explanations of the angels history to auras or the shit long list of colors and their deepest meanings.

Turning a few pages, he found what he was looking for. The blue circles drawn on the pages were supposed to replicate the wonderful light he saw around the lonely boy. It really didn't do him justice.

_“Children of light emitting blue auras have a personality ruled by emotion and spiritual energy.”_ It read

As he continued reading he found nothing but ways to defeat, slaughter and deceive the angels using their weaknesses and strengths against them. How to use their trust and have them to convert into a slave of hell. Using their bonds to break them.

Zoro often heard angels were supposed to be slaughtered, that demons like him were created to defeat them. Thinking about seeing the boy only to slay him with his katanas was not something that sat well with him.

The boy looked hurt the first time, maybe he had been in a battle with demons already? Maybe he could protect the boy from demons instead of killing the boy himself or even worse, watching him get killed by other demons.

Zoro wasn't sure why he was so fixated on the boy, but he was sure he was going to protect him.

•••

Mihawk had wanted to take him up to the human world. The mountains in their world was an excellent place to watch and study angels, he said.

As if Zoro didn't know that already.

Humans didn't go there, their legs were too weak to carry them at such height and their brains too dumb to comprehend what they would be seeing if they looked up. They didn't have haki like he did anyway.

The only reason he even came up with Mihawk was to see if he could learn something about the little blue winged boy.

Mihawk had told him about the angels, he said that even if they looked like them, they were different at the same time, he would not understand until he saw them up close.

He knew they could be pretty already though.

As he stared at the angels flying above the clouds, he could only wonder why he wasn't born to be beautiful like the angels were.

“Why can I see them here? I've looked up before and they used that invisible thing so I couldn't see them.” Zoro finally asked.

“Knowing you, you probably just chose a bad spot. They need to be completely relaxed in order for us to see them. These ones are weak to do such thing, the warriors would never do something so careless.”

He did not choose a bad spot. That was the spot he saw the blue angel, how could it possibly be a “bad spot”. He didn't answer Mihawk, only glared up at the angels one again.

“Those are the common angels you see,” Mihawk explained, “they are called “skypieans” if I'm not wrong.

He poured another glass of wine, something he stole from the village at the mountain’s foot. He offered the glass to Zoro, who quickly took it and drank it all.

“Must you always drink so quickly? You waste it.” Mihawk complained.

“Whatever.”

He looked at the angels above the common ones. A group of women hovering in the air.

The angels above them were some kind of guards, training with swords and arrows spewing fire. They were quicker and more agile than the commoners it seemed.

“They have different classes too? I thought they were supposed to be all about equality and stuff.” Zoro asked.

“The common angels don't have the same skills as the rest do, only the wings. Guardians are the ones on human ground. Protectors are the ones fighting fighting for the great-”

“The great ones?”

“Let me finish. Yes the great ones. The angels with powers and such.”

“Like you?”

“I suppose, although the great ones are usually born, not made.”

“What kind of powers?” Zoro asked, hoping to finally have fished something out of Mihawk.

Mihawk sighed.

“I once fought with a man who could make diamonds into a weapon.”

“Did you defeat him?”

“Yes.”

After a few moments of watching the angels train, Zoro started to wonder;

“Why are you so invested in beating the angels anyway? I didn't follow you for you to preach about angel ass whooping, you know, I followed you to defeat you and help Luffy become pirate king.”

“If you think fighting only applies to demons you're more stupid than I thought you to be, Roronoa Zoro. Angels are strong fighters, can fly better than most demons with wings and it is part of my job after all. Do the gods dirty work, taking down the sinning angels. The lesser angels the more demons, the more demons, the faster we win the war. I am a demon of war young one, do not forget that. Now study the angels. I'm taking some more of this wine from the humans.”

Zoro watched as Mihawk disappeared into thin air. Mihawk didn't have wings like he did, he had other ways of transportation. He was slightly baffled by his speech. It was most certainly the longest he had ever heard Mihawk speak, he didn't know what to make of it.

If even the great Dracule Mihawk wanted to defeat the angels, then being borderline obsessed about one was bad. If Mihawk did the gods dirty work he could only assume he was allowed to the heavens for his work. Which meant that the angel could be put in danger if it came out that a demon followed him everywhere.

He knew angels weren't allowed down on human grounds when they were children, at least not unsupervised. That would mean it would take him approximately another 100 years for him to be able to meet the angel, if he was lucky.

If he was able to convert the angel to the demon’s side, to make him willingly become a fallen angel, then no one would be putting him in any danger. Fallen angels were considered to be the demon's pride, since big name demons such as Gold Roger himself was a fallen angel. It was an unwritten law to never kill fallen angels. The innocent who wanted to become tainted and the demons who had succeeded in tainting them instantly flew up in ranking and were therefore, immediately protected and feared.

The book about deceiving angels suddenly appealed to him immensely.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Zoro has found his agenda, added a new word to his vocabulary and seen Sanji's wonderful blue wings.
> 
> What do you think of the story so far? As always, constructive criticism is welcome here.
> 
> Next chapter we'll go back to Sanji again.
> 
> See you next time!


	4. Feeling blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji does not know why he is so attatched to a talking marimo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you soooo muuuch for 300+hits, 30+ kudos and all your lovely comments! 
> 
> I finally figured out a schedule (sort of); I will be posting new chapters on weekends. School kind of fuckes everything else up.
> 
> Enjoy the fourth chapter of Lost Boy!

There he was again, the same green little marimo he had seen that night.

Sanji didn't know why he was so ecstatic to see the marimo again, he had become surprisingly fascinated with the little demon. The marimo looked at ease with his three swords resting at his hip. Completely secure, it would be so safe to let a sword-bearing demon child stare at Sanji for an hour. He would be just fine.

He had trained a lot with Zeff, only legs because hands were for cooking and cooking was his treasure, but he wasn't sure if he could take swords. Once, he had accidentally stepped on a small peeling knife on the floor and it went straight up his foot through his shoe and pierced the arch of his poor left foot. No fighting with swords then.

As he saw the marimo from The Baratie’s makeshift fins, his mood instantly peaked. The marimo must've bathed in a _lot_ of water since he last saw him, he was taller and had muscles bulging from his tiny arms, replacing the chubbiness he had the first time he caught a glimpse of him.

Since Sanji's imprisonment he had trained up his haki a lot, wanting to see the marimo a little sharper, see if he had gills on the sides of his neck - he didn't - or if his wings really were that shiny black he thought them to be - they were.

They were that same perfect shiny and black color his black cooking knifes had but they also had a little green in there too. The scales especially. He didn't know why a marimo would need scales or if marimos were fluffy and cute. Was he even a marimo then?

He jumped off and took notice in the way the marimo looked at him. He was staring intently, he could tell just by the quick glances he threw him as he turned his head to yell at Zeff:

“Old man! I'm taking a walk, don't destroy the restaurant while I'm gone, okay?”

To which he got a charming: “Fuck you, Eggplant!” back.

He turned around again after he had walked for awhile and couldn't take it anymore. How could he physically _feel_ another person's eyes on him? They were in different dimensions!

0.1 seconds was all it took for him to see the marimo winded his eyes.

 _“Do not look at him. Do not look at him. Do not look at him.”_ Sanji chanted in his head as his eyes watered from boring themselves in direct sunlight.

Damn, he focused too much on the boy. His heart was already racing and his palmed started to sweat. Tingling rushes went through his body, up and down, left and right. His wings started to twitch.

The rushes went to his wings and his blue aura spread itself around them.

 _Demons should not see your aura:_ that was the only important rule Vinsmoke Judge had taught him.

He stood still, trying to remember the words his sorry excuse of a father had told him about portals, how to make himself disappear. His eyes took in his surroundings, glanced at the portal, then at the view the marimo would see if he wasn't there. Blue sky; he would see blue sky.

Thinking of the color blue only made his aura intensify. Its usual search for his deceased mother now turned into a frustrated search for the demon boy. It always wanted him to be close to the ones he trusted and for some sick reason, he trusted a marimo.

His mother’s aura was blue like he was. The same ocean blue she had surrounded around her, was also in and around him. He loved his aura for that, that he had inherited it from his mother. He also hated it in a way. He knew his nature made him easy to manipulate, easy to fool. He couldn't leave the people he became attached to, it would break him.

He had told Zeff, who in turn told him it was a dangerous aura to have, that many died from heartache but Zeff didn't know what the word truly meant. Sanji knew, he knew his heart literally had stopped beating when his mother died. That it only started beating again as he jumped from the cloud, fully prepared to die.

He was frozen in fright again. He did not want to have this sort of attachment to a boy he could never meet, it would be like his mother’s death all over again.

It was okay for him to be attached to Zeff since he would never leave Zeff anyway, Zeff would live another five hundred years or so. That was plenty of time.

Then again, five hundred years was plenty of time to fly down to the human world. One hundred years for him to be a full grown angel, then maybe he could go down to see the marimo, maybe.

He would need permission from the admirals… or he could fly down on his own... No. Dumb Sanji. It was a sin and he could not sin.

The risk was too great. What if someone would see them together? That would be a grave sin. He would be exiled from heaven, killed if he went too close.

If his attachment to the demon boy would continue, something he knew it would, he just had to deal with it didn't he? Face it head first instead of ignoring it and hoping it would go away, something he also knew it would never do once he became attached.

The ocean blue aura of his only acted on his emotions and he knew not to ignore his emotions or else he would close down and pretty much die inside, or so he had heard and if it was anything like his mother’s death then he damn well didn't want to relive it.

If only he could've had the yellow aura his father hoped he would've had. Then he wouldn't be plotting on breaking the most severe of sins.

Well the gods be damned, he had a marimo to make acquaintance with… in 94 years.

•••

The mental clock he constructed in his head was ticking down slowly. Never had Sanji known time was able to pass by this leisurely.

The marimo causing him to feel this way in the first place, appeared to want to meet him too. That or it was an incredibly accurate coincidence that every time The Baratie came to a stop, he was sitting on some mountain below watching them - more specifically - watching him.

It was exhilarating in a way he never thought it would be. This demon boy was following him, something one would experience as creepy, but Sanji could see the way he was looking at him with awe, like he was someone special and damn if it didn't boost Sanji's confident for the rest of the week.

He knew he also sneaked some shy glances at the demon, he would purposely turn his head around a lot or do errands outside of The Baratie to be able to watch the boy.

There was something inviting about him. His dark eyes filled with curiosity, the canine peeking out from his lip, the way his scowl decreased the longer he stared. It was a little disturbing how long he could be watching him, the demon didn't seem to have the reflex of blinking.

About a year after Sanji's declaration to himself, The Baratie came to a two-week stop above some humongous mountains. They were large enough to have glittering snow cover them from the middle and up, avalanches spilled down from them and the sun reflected itself in the ice covered rocks.

Stubborn as the marimo was, he would be at the very top of that white mountain.

Surely the marimo would be alright, he wouldn't get frostbite or something would he? He was a marimo after all and marimos didn't get frostbite, no they probably died instan- lords curse his morbid mind.

The uneven bumping of Zeff’s peg leg forced him out of his concerned thoughts. He picked up two boxes the size of his upper body and struggled his way down on the bouncy clouds.

Some of the chefs were already preparing to descend to the human world to gather supplies for food from the wealthy villages. They rolled their shoulders and jumped in place, flexing their wings to warm them up for the long flight.

“We'll be back by dawn! Anything else we should ask for in place of you useless idiots?” Dijon shouted.

“Do they have elephant tunas?” Sanji shouted back, hopeful.

The chefs chuckled, excusing him from his silly dream they knew he had.

“Don't think so, string bean, we’ll bring back some real fish for you. Anything else?” Dijon turned to Zeff now.

“Ask them for some mushrooms, I've heard they should be good around here.” Zeff said, turning back to the boxes.

With that, they flew down, the portal shifting slightly as they touched it, creating small circles rippling after one another in all the colors of the rainbow.

It was still a little dark out, the sun steadily rising from behind the tall mountains. It was an extraordinary sight, so much heavy snow as far as he could see, blending in with the clouds making it look like the they continued on forever.

In the middle of Sanji's picture perfect view, there was that familiar blop of emerald sticking out.

 _“The marimo is starting to become more punctual.”_ Sanji thought as he smiled at the sight.

He looked around him. There were only one or two boxes left to deal with, the others could take care of them. Most of them were heading inside anyway.

Sanji quickly took off to the clouds, making sure to give off his blue aura a little as he knew the marimo’s gaze sharpened as soon as he did. He did love the attention the marimo was giving him, even though it was frowned upon to think such selfish thoughts as he did around the marimo.

He pretended to be interested in the sun as he landed on the cloud just above the marimo. How could he be interested in the sun though when there was something much more interesting just a few wing flaps away?

A little more focus on showing his aura and he could _feel_ that look which gave him shivers. How he just wanted to be with him.

Sanji didn't know where his sudden confident came from but he sensed that his whole body wanted to turn around and just look at him, so he did.

Carefully, he turned around and sat down, legs crossed, facing the demon. He made sure to keep his eyes shut, the first thing he wanted to see was the marimo.

Sanji braced himself, what would he see? Would the marimo be giving him one of his usual stares? Maybe he would be in awe like he was sometimes or would he just be gone, suddenly not finding Sanji interesting anymore? The last subject had Sanji clenching his fists.

He opened his eyes and locked them with a standing marimo. His eyes were as black as night, for once staring him in his blue eyes. His eyebrows were high on his face from the surprise, they were green like his hair, Sanji noted. His jaw was slack, giving him a nice view of of his canines, he had four of them, not two like he initially thought, the other two were showing behind his bottom lip. They were still small so perhaps they only  recently started developing, like the three puny forest green horns on top of his head.

Sanji leaned forward on his arms, interested to see a little bit more. He had never been able to look at the marimo so closely before.

The marimo suddenly jerked his head away, turning around looking for something vehemently as Sanji tipped his head in confusion.

He finally found what he was looking for: the swords resting at his hip; it was a bit adorable how startled he was.

The demon turned to look at him in embarrassment and Sanji giggled slightly, giving him a small smile in encouragement.

That only made the demon more flustered - something Sanji found to be extremely amusing. He fumbled with taking out one of his swords from his little belt. The sword was black with small golden detailing around it, still in its sheet as he bored it down in the snow, walking and dragging the sword with him.

Oh! He was writing something! The cloud’s ends dissolved a bit as he dragged himself forward by his arms to see better. He wasn't sure if he could read it; demons and angels had some differences in their written languages and especially in their speech but he would at least be able to read a little of whatever he was writing.

When the marimo was done he stood beside it and pointed at it with a flushed face. It was messy, hard to read with all the rough edges.

Zo...l...No, r...o... Zoro? What the heck was a Zoro?

He turned to the marimo who must have understood he didn't understand since he pointed first at him, then at the text he had just written

Ooh. Zoro was his _name_.

Sanji nodded. Then stood up as _Zoro_ pointed at him, not so much asking but demanding to have his name as well.

He flew off the cloud, hovering in the air with his back turned to Zoro and wrote his own name in the mist. It would only last a few seconds so he hoped Zoro could read it.

Mimicking what Zoro had done, he turned around and pointed at himself, then at his name, a little pink dusting his cheeks.

Zoro was squinting his eyes, concentrated on the letters. Then his face brightened and _lords_ Sanji felt his whole world and the next bloom in him as he saw that smile. Of course Zoro had to be the little demon he was and held up three fingers while beaming at him like that.

Yes, he was named after the damn number three. Yes, he wished his name would've been a _little_ different than a stupid hour of the day or because he was the third child and had to be _constantly_ reminded of his heritage when his name was called.

He puffed out his cheeks and glared down at Zoro who looked a little remorseful at his gesture but immediately scowled in anger as Sanji pointed at his hair.

"At least I don't have green hair!" He shouted out to the marimo, knowing he couldn't hear a thing.

He yelled something back at him but Sanji couldn't hear him, only cupped his ear and turned his head at him. His face had the same matching smirk Zoro had on his face now, he knew it and he loved it.

He loved it so much he burst out in laughter, kicking his feet under him and shaking in the air whilst he held his flexing stomach. He had never been allowed to mock someone the way he did with Zoro, it was new but he wanted to do it again and again and again.

He felt the marimo look at him that way he did sometimes, that deep stare which triggered his aura at times.

He peeked at the marimo and just like he felt, he was staring with wide eyes. His feet were off the ground, a few meters up in the air, carried by his wings.

They didn't move behind Zoro as Sanji's did. Zoro's wings bucked in by the tips and folded around him like a cloak, shielding him from attacks.

Did he want to fly up to Sanji? Was that what he meant? He could fly down to meet him, he wanted to fly down so bad, just to hear his voice.

 _“This is bad. This is starting to get on really dangerous territory_.” Sanji decided, flying back to the cloud once again, a little more serious expression on his face.

The marimo had landed as well, noticing something wasn't right. Scrunched up brows, a simple frown on his face and gaze kept to the ground; he was ashamed. 

Sanji quickly sent out another pulse of his aura, snatching away Zoro's foul mood. The marimo still looked sorrowful and Sanji could only offer him a small smile to which his chin rose a little higher.

A few hand gestures toward The Baratie and the two fingers he was holding up conveyed they would be staying for two weeks, that's how long it took to refill the bubble making them float. Zoro probably didn't understand so he pointed east toward the sun, held up his two fingers, then did a “x” with his fingers and adding his frowning face; meaning they wouldn't be staying for two days. Then he pointed toward the shrinking bubble under The Baratie, made a bubble with his hands so the marimo would understand, and held up two fingers again.

The marimo most certainly did not understand a word of what he meant, his face was scrunched up and his eyes kept glancing between The Baratie and him.

Sanji sighed; _“hopeless”_ , he thought. Deciding to leave before he did something he would regret, he stretched his wings, bringing the marimo’s attention on Sanji and Sanji alone. He stretched out his arm and waved enthusiastically, marking the end of their little conversation. In these two upcoming weeks he would see the marimo again multiple times, he knew he would; yet why did his heart drop just a little as Zoro waved back ever so slightly?

He wouldn't be able to fly away if Zoro kept on looking at him like that, like he would be so lonely without Sanji. He sure was going to feel lonely without the marimo.

With a powerful jump, Sanji was once again, in the air with a heart racing as fast as the speed he was flying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it! Sanji and Zoro finally talk to each other!
> 
> As you all probably have guessed by know, this fic is going to be a slow burn, something I personally LOVE. The frustration of not having something happen but so much happening at the same time is just beautiful.
> 
> Thank you for reading, leaving kudos and commenting!


	5. Neverland

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okokokok hold up, 500 people have klicked on this fucking story holy shit thank you to all of you who read this my god.
> 
> I will be posting on weekends for those who want to continue reading, thank you so much again for all of your support.

  
As soon as Zoro touched demon grounds, he fell down on his knees in front of Yubashiri, begging the old spirits inside for forgiveness after treating them so lowly, for using them as something so basic like a _pencil_.

Zoro’s respect for his katanas were well above the average respect swordsmen held for their swords, he wanted them to be the extension of his limbs when he couldn’t reach and the help he would need to protect his nakama, honoring his katanas was a high priority. He would often sit and meditate with them, sensing their spirits, what they needed that day, if they needed anything at all.

Bloodshed was Kitetsu’s priority, leaving body after body scarred with his mark and having Zoro lick the blood off, it sharpened Kitetsu’s angle, lightened his weight and quickened his speed.

Yubashiri was old, his spirits tired easily when they weren’t interested in the fight, he didn’t crave a lot, only trust and pride. He broke that pride gravely just a few hours prior.

Wado was… different. She was kind, wanted to help him with all she got. She grew a little colder as someone insulted him or if the enemy was too much of an asshole, she hated fighting with assholes, she would become a less aggressive version of Kitetsu if the enemy was all too ignorant. Sometimes, only sometimes, he could hear Kuina’s voice in the mass of the other spirits, reassuring him whenever he still blamed himself for her death, giving him courage as he faced an enemy much stronger than him, like that Daz in the Arabasta dimension.

Never in Zoro’s life had he thought he would’ve used his katanas as a mere tool for something so simple as writing letters. His obsession with the angel - Sanji - was over flooding his morals and sinking his instincts down to the bottom of his very core.

Sanji, Sanji, Sanji. What a gorgeous name he couldn’t even pronounce correctly. He was well aware his feelings for the boy were growing far too much for him to give up on, the mere thought had him clenching his jaw. The sight of the little angel boy laughing still brought a timid smile on Zoro’s young face. He had to talk to him again soon but only if he succeeded with the move Mihawk had taught him, then he would fly up to see him, Zoro had decided for himself. He had become so preoccupied with Sanji that he had slacked off on his mental training the month after he had first seen him, so now he could only see him if he did good with his training.

To be able to see Sanji, he would have to be able to form portals that lead him to where he actually wanted. He couldn’t form portals with a place in mind, that always went wrong somehow, so he had to form portals with people in mind. At least that was what Nami had taught him, the witch, always so smug when he failed and forcing him to bring her riches from the demons in town.

She could do it herself, he knew, she was infamous for theft and was often mentioned by the name ’cat-burglar’,

_“She moves like a jaguar, quick and agile, pouncing on her prey before anyone even notice”_ , he heard people whisper about her, clutching their Berries close to their chest in fear she might have heard them.

_Better go to her for another damn lesson tomorrow._  Zoro thought, grumpy now from thinking of her for too long.

He would have to train now, he craved the burning sensation his body experienced just before he would pass out.

•••

“I’ll stand by the tangerines, right here, and you will picture an image of me, then an image of you next to me, got it? Really, how many times have we been through this already?” Nami complained, putting her hands on her hips, flapping her ginger wings a bit, letting a few feathers sail down on Merry’s flooring.

Zoro hated these lessons, Nami made everyone on the ship take them since they were necessary for survival, in case something went wrong with the dimensional portals they would have to get out on their own. Unstable portals were feared for good reasons. Still, having to listen to Nami, _obey_ Nami and then _paying_ her for doing so… he hated it.

Zoro had his suspicions about Nami, that she was from an long family of fallen angels, her wings and pure looks said she was, but her deceiving personally told him otherwise. She never liked to talk about it, something he understood since he was an orphan like her himself.

Zoro groaned and rolled his eyes slightly, “I’m doing better, okay? Just stand still for a bit now.” Zoro closes his eyes, following Nami’s instructions she told him earlier.

“You didn’t even bring me any goods last week for all my hard work, just a few twinkling things. They probably weren’t even worth 10 Beri, you know.” He could hear the ‘ _click, click_ ’ her nail made whenever she started picking at them, then, he could practically feel the coy smile spread across her face. “Next time, you’ll have to pay me with your _body_.”

Even without looking, Zoro damn well knew she winked at him.

“That ain’t going to work on me, you know that. You just developed your tits yesterday by the way, don’t think that’s going to work on anyone the way you want it to for awhile.” He groaned out with boredom, opening the portal and jumping in.

She clicked her tongue in her mouth and glared at him as he disappeared into the portal hole and reappeared a few meters beside her.

“Damn it! Just a little more to the right.” Zoro complained, stomping back to his place and tried again, an angry scowl on his face.

“You mean ‘a little more to the _left_.’” She snickered, her eyes glinting of that golden color it did sometimes.

Zoro’s face flushed, red creeping up his neck. “Left! I said left!” He shouted at her as his head turned to glare at her.

“Fine, fine, if you say so.” Her hand went up to her mouth, he could hear her small giggles but chose to ignore them and focused on forming portals instead.

This time when he reappeared, he was only one meter to her left. She clapped her hands and smiled a bit at him.

“I do have to say, you’re improving much faster than I expected, I’m sure you’re as tired of me as I am of you by know so…” she made a little shooing motion with her hand, urging him to leave her in peace. “And my seduction does work, you know, some people just like women, no matter the age, and I always get double the money from them.” She shrugged and turned around to continue caring for her mother’s tangerines, plucking away dead leaves and polishing the fruits until they gleamed under the sun.

“And don’t give me that look, Zoro, you know I’m dealing with my issues from Arlong in my own way. You just have to trust me a bit on this.” A sad smile plastered on her face before shaking it off, “We’re leaving for Water 7 in a few days, the portal has begun to settle. If you want to buy anything I can always lend you some money, of course there will be a 200% interest fee along with it.” her eyes shone at the thought of more money in her pocket.

“Who would want to lend anything from you, you thieving witch.” With that, Zoro walked away to fetch his weights, hearing Nami huff in annoyance as he did.

Of course he trusted Nami, he trusted her with his life, she was like a sister, maybe even something like a mother, to all of them, especially to Luffy. It hurt and relieved them all at the same time to see her small habits which stuck with her slowly but surely disrupt.

The first time they met, she had bruises on her hips, dark ‘love’ bites on her collarbones, and a sack of jewelry in the tiny boat she sailed on, alone on the broad ocean. She was puny, had barely even grown out her wings fully, she was just a child. She was damn good at hiding her pain too, Zoro didn’t even notice what she had done - or rather been forced to do - until he met Arlong and saw how her legs began to shake under his glare.

Zoro begun to wrap his hands in bandages, he had hurt them just a bit while fighting some other pirates and Chopper being the empathetic creature he was, had kicked him until he finally reached his hands out for him to examine. ’ _They’re fractured!_ ’ Chopper had screamed in his face, eyes blown wide and chest heaving for air, he ordered him not to train for a week but he knew Zoro wouldn’t listen, so he packed Zoro’s pockets full of bandages for him to use when training.

If we’re leaving for Water 7, we should be gone for at least another five to ten years, depending of the dimension’s caos, Zoro reasoned to himself as he picked up his weights.

They always stayed now to make sure the people would be alright after they left, Luffy wanted to make it ‘his territory’ after all, nothing belonging to Luffy would be harmed under his watch. Seeing how bad Arabasta has definitely been a mind blowing experience, they decided they would give ten years of their life for the kingdom’s safety, tough Vivi had reassured them they could leave after five since she would be staying there, she was the princess, it was her responsibility.

Zoro brought his weights down, stepping forward with his foot as he did so. “...1…”, he counted.

He wouldn’t be able to see Sanji for a few years, since it was so difficult to travel between dimensions alone. The human realm was easy, it possessed little power and some humans didn’t even believe in demons, it was easy to blend in if one had the looks to do so, but that was just about the only exception.

They would need a grand portal, one that would stay open until they reached their destination. It was hard to create one, not only because of the physical exertion, there were only a few select places which led to certain dimensions but Nami could still do it like it was nothing. She became dozy afterward, wanted to lay down and sleep but she pulled through in order to secure everything.

Luffy sure did pick the good ones.

•••

Sweat drops slid down his bare skin, making his upper body shimmer under the sun. The old battle scars shattered across his body screamed for attention, they itched from all the sweat, the lack of moisture and care finally getting to them. The one on his chest was a real troublemaker.

“...2076…”, he grunted out, shifting his balance to his right foot, stepping forward with his left, and swung the heavy weights straight down, stopping as his hand reached eye-level, “...2077…” he stepped back, only to repeat the same motion again, “...2078…”.

Usopp was sitting behind him, tinkering with his tools, humming from time to time as he discovered something new.

“Hey, Luffy, come here! I think I fixed the problem with our stove!” Usopp exclaimed, waving Luffy over in hope to receive some praise from the captain.

Luffy, who sat on top of Merry’s head, happily jumped down and skipped toward Usopp, stretching his neck to peer closer at Usopp’s new discovery.

“What, what? We can cook food again? Nami, we need Nami! Where is she? I want meat-fish, can we get meat-fish? That big meat-fish, with the head of a pig, I want that one, can we get it? Come on!” He whined, jumping up and down like an inpatient child waiting for its mother's praise, holding his flat stomach, comforting it for not being filled with food for two hours, poor thing.

“Not yet, I have to assemble the thing first, but see here,” Usopp pointed at the small spring connected to the black knob, “it broke, so I, the great-“

“Oh yeah! It did something weird when I turned it yesterday and plopped out, so I just stuffed it back in!” Luffy interrupted, grinned brightly, all teeth showing, oblivious to the burning glare Usopp gave him.

“You! Ah, I knew it was you! Of course it was. You’re banned from the kitchen for a reason! No meat until you pay me for a new spring, a new knob and a chocolate fountain!” he pointed a finger at Luffy, scowling and fuming with anger.

“Shut up, all of you,” came Chopper’s voice from the upper deck, “I’m making medicine, you stupid fools! Be quiet!” he slammed his hooves on the planks as he stomped back, the sound was even less threatening than Usopp.

“Sorry Chopper!” Luffy shouted back in an apology, grinning sheepishly and waving at him, then he turned back to Usopp who was pinching his cheek, dragging it out as far as his arm could reach.

_So Chopper’s back too, huh._ Zoro thought as he put down his weights, grabbing his discarded shirt from the ground and put it on, taking a mental note to ask Chopper for more lotion for his scars.

Zoro didn’t talk much, never was one to get along with people, yet that clumsy creature brought out a side of him he never knew he had. Where it was hidden all these years, he didn’t know. Maybe it got broken after Kuina, he never did trust anyone after that.

Luffy was someone he always needed in his life, but never knew it until that day Zoro was on Morgan’s death penalty. The sheer amount of determination, loyalty and power Luffy withheld in his skinny body blew his mind every single day, he would follow this ridiculous man until the day he died, hopefully even after that.

Luffy’s charisma really was a wondrous thing. He was a lower class demon according to races - a rokurokubi, a wingless demon who could stretch its neck. Luffy was more than that though, he could stretch all of his limbs, through training, Luffy had told him, he didn’t know what kind of training Luffy had done but he did know Luffy was one of the strongest people he ever met, so whatever he did sure as hell payed off.

If Luffy would meet Sanji, would he take him in too? Cherish him like nakama, give him a place in the world. If Luffy told him Sanji wasn’t to be trusted, that he should be careful, would he even listen? The constant pull toward Sanji wouldn’t allow him, he’s trusted his gut, always, and his gut didn’t want to be away from Sanji. But if Luffy truly saw what Zoro saw - an extraordinary person, wanting to be loved and love others - Luffy would care for him.

These annoying shifts and flutters his gut did when he thought of these things was the exact reason as to why he chose not to show feelings.

He wasn’t sure, but Zoro saw that fish Sanji floated with had a ‘restaurant’ sign on it. Did the boy work there? Was he a cook? He would fit in perfectly with the crew; a captain, first mate, sharpshooter, navigator, doctor, archeologists and then a cook.

Luffy did always complain about that; ‘ _there’s no cook!_ ’ along with his constant; ‘ _we need a musician!’_.

He would have to ask Sanji more about him. He had wanted to for so long, and now that they were leaving, he would have to do that as soon as possible.

•••

Just picture Sanji on the cloud, and then yourself on a mountain under him. Zoro thought as he formed his dark green portal and jumped in it, hoping for the best.

The wind around the portal disoriented him, compelling his eyes to focus on something solid but nothing was there, everything was moving around, spinning, forming shapes and scattering away into nothingness. The travel through portals were short, split seconds - milliseconds in Nami’s case - but it felt like his whole life and his previous one all mashed up into one timeline.

Zoro didn’t feel anything solid under him as he warped out of the end portal, instinctively, he folded out his wings and felt the muscles in them stretch uncomfortably as they spread out as far as they could in order to keep him afloat.

Looking down, he was in between two mountains; pointy as fuck, hot as fuck, a long ass fall which would break a few of his bones if he landed wrong.

Looking up, he saw the source of the heat, the fucking Skypiea road, bringing all the heat with it, causing almost every other dimension to desiccate, people starved from the lack of food, shriveled up like raisins and turned their bones into dust after being without any liquid for so long. All whilst leaving the ‘good dimensions’ where all the ‘good people’ lived with steamy paradises and exotic fruits.

A whole dimension was turned into one of the levels for impel down after killing millions of gorgons. The admirals of both the underground and the heavens thought it was the perfect place for suffering.

He felt eyes on him. Turning around he glared at the source, and met with deep, curious eyes and a curly brow. Sanji sat on the cloud, head resting on his arms and that small smile ghosting over his lips.

Zoro’s pupils dilated, blackening his eyes further. His eyebrows returned to their normal relaxed state and he landed softly on the spear-shaped mountain to his side. He then pointed to the skypiea road, adding a frown to his face, all whilst tearing into Sanji’s eyes with his own.

Sanji gave him an apologetic smile, shifted on the cloud he sat on so his upper body hanged off of it upside down, and began to write.

It took awhile for Zoro to read and completely understand the word, less than before but it still proved to be a difficult task.

“ _Hurt?_ ” It read, Sanji crossed his heart with his fingers, his eyebrows curled even more when he frowned, Zoro noticed.

Zoro shook his head while pointing at himself, ‘ _not me’_ , he wanted to say.

Sanji understood immediately, frown smoothing out and eyebrows back into that soft curl again. He bent down to write again:

“ _Speak hands?_ ”, he crawled back to the cloud, eyes shining with hope, a restrained smile on his face, he was trying not to be exited.

‘Speak hands’? It did make sense, the language barrier made it complicated to tell the other something, they had used their hands to communicate a lot the first time, it was quicker and showed more of their intentions. Would they need to create a sign language of their own? Just for them…

Oh fuck yes, he was in.

Zoro nodded once, then continued to nod his head frantically as Sanji quickly brightened up more and more.

Dropping down yet again, Sanji continued to write, his hair fell down with him, bringing attention to how long it actually was.

“ _Day week month year_ ”

He pulled up his hand, used his other hand to circle once, then twice, three times, and lastly; four times. Then he pointed toward the fish - ‘The Baratie’ it read on the sign - and circled his hand two times around the one finger he now held up.

One more week, they’ll be staying one more week. Zoro thought, that meant he could have more moments like these with Sanji. He nodded in understanding.

Sanji’s smiles were blinding, easing his consciousness and and body. What more wonders could this boy do to him?

He was writing again now, telling him a new sign they would use, just for them-

“ _Marimo?”_ the now presumed devil had written. He was sitting there, an innocent smile on his flawless face, both hands in his hair, softly curling and uncurling, dragging themselves away from his head, mimicking a form of fluffiness.

Zoro sprung up in the air, predatory sounds coming from his throat, eyes turning into slits showing his usually hidden golden color. His hand reached out to his face, dragging his finger in a slow, curling motion on top of his own eyebrow.

The innocent smile and hopeful eyes turned sour and sharp, he stood up, bringing his hands, yet again, on top of his head, and formed three horns with his fingers. Jumping round and round with a slouched back, a sneer which seemed to drag his entire face down masked his bright futures as he turned to look at him, challenging Zoro to do something in return.

Zoro plastered a sweet smile on his face, bringing his legs together and shifting in place, blinked a few times, and blew Sanji a big kiss. He was way too pretty and adorable to not make fun of.

Instead of being flustered like Zoro anticipated, Sanji caught the kiss, bringing a hand to his heart in mockery before blowing a kiss right back at him.

Fucking curly.

Taking out Yubashiri from his saya, he cut the imaginary kiss in half before it reached him, ending up cleaving part of the mountain in half. He cursed at Sanji, drawing curls in the air, raising up his middle fingers, bonking his hands on his head in an attempt to say “ _fuck you, curly idiot!”._

Bright smiles and awe filled glinting eyes hid behind Sanji’s playful signs of what he interpreted as: “ _idiot” “marimo”_ and “ _dumb demon_ ”.

They spewed out insult after insult, Sanji reaching down to write a new word from time to time, adding new gestures to each one, simple words they would surely use in the future: good, bad, wait, fly, go, back, angel; simple words like that.

Zoro, in turn, pulled out a small knife he kept in case he would have to write again, and wrote down a new word, along with a new gesture, after each word Sanji wrote down.

Sanji’s eyes brightened up with curiosity as he wrote ‘pirate’ down. Sanji managed to tell him how there were old pirates onboard the floating fish - The Baratie, specifically about one old bastard with a big mustache.

He looked to be enjoying himself, so different from the first day he saw him, all alone and hurt. Was he happy? At The Baratie, with the people there? Was he happy with the time he spent with Zoro? Would he be able to join him on The Strawhats’ journey? Would he like to cross dimension after dimension, searching after new adventures and challenges and later on, stand by Luffy’s side as he became the pirate king?

Zoro stopped with his insulting, watching as Sanji’s hands stopped too. He didn’t know how to put it into signs with hands, if it would do his question justice. He bent down, taking out the small knife and began to write, only to stop at the first letter.

He wanted to ask Sanji so bad, wanted to take him down and show him how enjoyable their life could be. How did he know that Sanji wasn’t happy though? He looked happy, that was all he really knew; that he looked happy. And it wasn’t his place to ask, sure he was first mate, but he was not about to make a decision his captain was supposed to make. To ask someone he barely even knew to join them was Luffy’s job, not his. If, and only if, Sanji had ended up saying ‘yes’, he would have to give up his title as an angel, give up on his family, friends, home, he would be thrust into a unrecognizable territory, filled with unfamiliar people, only to rely on Zoro.

This was wrong, this was so wrong on so many levels. Zoro was asking someone to give up everything they knew in order to go against everything he knew. When had he become so incredibly selfish?

Zoro didn’t ask his question, instead he wrote down “ _cook?_ ” in letters a bit too perfect for being written by Zoro. He added a motion - a chef’s hat, or that was what it was supposed to look like. His arms hung at his side, his gaze was shifted to the ground, his head was still held high, he didn’t bow his head easily but he damn well wanted to, the clouds above him carried weight, it seemed, why else would it feel like his neck was giving in and his legs felt like giving up.

Sanji’s face was questionable, it didn’t contain genuine happiness or the curiosity it often did, but a smile was at his face, his blue shine glimpsed again, at least bringing Zoro’s eyes to meet his for a few seconds. Sanji nodded yes and carefully wrote in the cloud: “ _Chef_ ”, then added the motion of the chef’s hat, still showing off his calming blue hue.

He didn’t like his smile suddenly, Zoro told himself, he didn’t like the way he didn’t ever seem upset, he didn’t like it, it made his heart grow cold for a minute, fists clenching till his blunt nails dug into his palms.

Sanji knew their conversation wasn’t going to continue, he strengthened his aura, once again compelling Zoro’s eyes to drift toward the boy, he reached his hand up high, and waved with a slight smile on his lips.

Zoro brought up his hand as well, heavier than he remembered it to be, tried to reach it up as high as he could, and waved back.

Within five seconds, Sanji was up in the air, soaring through the sky at an incredibly high speed toward his home.

Why was he so drawn to him, what was it about Sanji that made him think this way? Was it because he was the first angel he had ever seen? No, then he would’ve felt that pull toward the angels he saw with Mihawk. Was it his glow? It was fascinating to look at but that was about it. Sanji had been lonely the first time but he wasn’t lonely anymore, it wasn’t some sick pity Zoro felt for him anymore. What the fuck was wrong with him? Why would he go so far to think such a thing about Sanji. He had come to respect the angel, which was also strange since he didn’t even know him, he would never treat someone of the crew this way and he respected them immensely. He needed to stop, maybe the ten year gap would be good for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here we have the 5th chapter of   
> Lost boy, this is my very first fic and I have to say that I really enjoy writing it so I’m thinking of writing a zosan serial killer fic (what, who’s morbid? I’m not) i will still be posting on Lost Boy but if some chapters are a bit too much about killing that might just be the cause...
> 
> See you next time and again, thank you for your support!


	6. Never Say Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for supporting this fic! I really love reading all your comments and I’m absolutely baffled about how good this fic is doing, thank you so much!
> 
> I hope you enjoy the sixth chapter of Lost Boy!

Hot flames sprouted up in Sanji’s face, making his eyes gleam orange and nose tingle from the heat. The cut he was preparing - entrecôte, Zeff had called it - sizzled from all the juice dripping down from it, oil flying on his hands and burning his skin slightly.

Zeff told him to endure it, “ _What kind of chef are you if you’re afraid of a little fire_?”, he had mocked him as he bandaged his hands.

After months of working at The Baratie, Zeff had finally - finally - allowed him in the main kitchen. No more peeling potatoes all day, no more cleaving onions, now he was allowed to cook for real, with the other chefs.

He knew Zeff cared for him in some way but Sanji cared for Zeff the same way he cared for his dear mother and he wanted Zeff to care for him like a son too. He saw Zeff look at him with some sort of pride in his eyes as he got the flame up correctly, when he made that perfect cut with his small hands or when he scaled the fish with the same technique Zeff used. He wasn’t Zeff’s son, but he was something of the likes.

The bell rang frantically behind him, Carne rushed to Dijon, his glasses falling down his face slightly as he kept moving, “They want the cod they had last time, with that sauce you made, you better not make it as shitty as you did last time!” He shouted at him even though they were right beside each other, but that was the life in this kitchen, loud and lively, never once was there a pause; Sanji loved it, it was home.

Dijon growled at him, a sound someone would have punished him for if they were elsewhere, but now they were here, no one gave a shit here. “You dare insult my art, bastard, I ought to shove my knife up your arse!” he waved around with his chef’s knife, Zeff would’ve kicked him if he saw.

“Leave your fetishes between you and Cajun, I don’t want to hear any of it.” Carne guffawed at him, making Dijon silently turn back to his cooking with red dusted on his cheeks.

Sanji didn’t know what they were talking about, what these ‘fetishes’ were or what they did, if it involved knifes outside of the kitchen he wasn’t sure he wanted any part of it. They often joked about Cajun and Dijon, they were close to one another and the other chefs would kicked their backs to push them even closer together. Patty had told him he was too young to understand, that once he was a bit older then maybe they would do the same to him, Sanji declined his offer with a ‘fuck you’.

The bell behind him rang again, again and again, signaling a new order. “More mushrooms! Cook more mushrooms!” someone screamed at them.

“Another salmon ravioli! Hurry, hurry they want it now!” two of them were running around, bringing out dish after dish.

“Idiots, is the lamb burgundy ready yet? No, more garlic! Much more garlic!” they argued with each other now, decorating the dishes and wiping the plates whilst doing so, everything had to look perfect.

Sanji liked the noisy background, it made him feel safe, like he was being cradled in his mother’s arms again. He pretended not to, just like everyone else pretended, but everyone enjoyed the atmosphere just as much as he did.

His entrecôte wasn’t for the guests from the village above them, it was for Zeff to eat and critique, and lots of criticism he would receive. His cooking speed was nowhere near the other chef’s, their speed were abnormal, sometimes too fast for his eyes to follow. He wanted to be like that one day.

He jumped down his little stool, he was too short to work comfortably at the high stoves yet, even though he had grown in height. He took out a plate from their cabinet, placed the meat on it and covered it with the juices from the pan - not too much but not too little.

He carried the plate to the back rooms of the kitchen, where Zeff sat making dough, slowly mixing it together and folding it in. He looked back at him, then at the plate. He nodded to the empty bench beside him and continued to work on his dough. Shit, had it been that long already?

As Sanji stepped closer he could see the mountain of dough Zeff had made during the time he made his dish, they were different in sizes and colors which made him wonder if Zeff was making new recipes. Sanji put the plate down as he stared in wonder, sitting down beside Zeff.

“It’s all for tonight, nothing will go to waste.” Zeff said tiredly, putting aside his latest creation in order to make room for a new one. He turned to Sanji and motioned for the plate of food.

Sanji jumped out of his thoughts and carefully brought the dish forward, afraid of breaking it if he moved it too fast. Heat filled his cheeks and he stared down at his lap, it always flustered him watching someone eat his food.

Quiet meant good according to Zeff’s vocabulary, which was why Sanji’s mind was ecstatic when Zeff only closed his eyes and went for a second bite. This was the ultimate praise, it was his first time cooking a dish like this and Zeff wasn’t critiquing anything, he actually seemed to really enjoy the meat he prepared.

All too sudden, Zeff put his fork down, it clanked against the wooden bench and Zeff returned his now empty plate to Sanji. He nodded to himself and then continued working on making new dough, pouring great masses of four on the empty workspace.

Sanji would’ve screamed at Zeff if only his face wasn’t frozen in shock. He walked back quietly, noticing Carne stopped to look at him when he reached the kitchen. “Oh lords, did Zeff fuck with his brain too much this time?” he asked himself while shaking his head, bringing the other chefs’ attention to Sanji.

“Hey Sanji, don’t look so scared, it was your first time making entrecôte, it’s hard to make just right.” Ale said with a small laugh, afraid to upset him.

“Yeah, yeah, Sanji. Look, it was probably really good!” Vin tried to brighten his mood up, they didn’t know he was the happiest he had been in weeks.

“Idiot don’t say that, look, his eyes are tearing up now!” Carne bonked the chefs on the head then turned to Sanji, opening his mouth to say something like the others did.

A small smile spread across Sanji’s face, “He liked it…” he said quietly, trying to make sure that it wasn’t a dream, “He _liked_ it!” Sanji repeated, more confident in the fact.

“What the _fuck_?!” Patty screeched, suddenly angry but Sanji could see a faint smile at the corner of his lips.

“You’re lying, you little bastard! Come here, give me that plate!” Carne snatched the plate from his hands before Sanji could react, he scooped up some of the juice Zeff’s fork couldn’t pick up and stuck the finger in his mouth. His eyes widened slightly, mouth falling open and subconsciously licked his lips in order to taste more of it. “Shit, the little brat’s got a mother fucking gift…”

Sanji only brightened up more at that. A gift huh? It was no gift he possessed, they just didn’t know he preferred cooking instead of sleeping.

“Oi, Sanji!” Patty screamed at him, “The fuck did you learn that?” he was shaking him by the shoulders in disbelief.

“I don’t know, just cooked…” Sanji was still smiling, bringing up his hands to look at them, shit, he felt amazing, like he was floating in the air, his wings were nicely folded behind him though so he knew it wasn’t true, his body was just so overjoyed.

Carne chuckled at the scene, “Well, I wonder if Zeff will let him cook for the feedings now. This was ‘the test’, wasn’t it?” he looked at Sanji, expecting an answer.

Sanji didn’t know what he was talking about. A test? For the feedings? Was he going to cook for the humans now too? Oh lord, Sanji was feeling faint now.

“Oh,” Patty laughed at him, “Carne, he doesn’t know. Zeff probably didn’t want to freak him out, look at him, the boy’s shaking!” He guffawed out, tilting back his head and hitting Sanji’s shoulders.

“Maybe he’ll let you fly down with us next time!” Cajun told him, smiling down kindly at him.

Sanji’s head whipped up to look at Cajun. Fly down? To the human realm?

“I’m not old enough…” Sanji said meekly, wondering if the man had somehow confused him for an adult.

“Oh that? That crap is just a myth, how do you think we became like this, huh? Everyone up in heaven are so uptight, can’t even fucking curse. Earth is much better, find some demon witch to hide away your wings and everyone treats you like a human, it’s great! They’ll even take you with them on their ships if you ask nicely, those times sure were fun.” Cajun smiled at the memory.

So he had been a pirate like Zeff too? Now that he thought about it, Cajun’s wings weren’t as prominent as normal wings, probably a side effect from the witch’s spell.

“Did your parents tell you that? It’s total bullshit, the gods don’t even monitor the portal that way, it’s just something elder angels say to make us live here forever, you know, make the population bigger, there aren’t as many of us left as there used to be.” Ansel said, frowning.

Judge had told him that, as well as every guard and maid in the palace, were they trying to brainwash him or were they the ones who were being brainwashed? Maybe both.

“My… he told me that…” Sanji said quietly, not wanting to say ‘father’, he hated that man.

“What? Your dad?” Ansel asked him.

He didn’t answer, only stared down on the floor. ‘Dad’ was an even worse word, it actually had some love behind the word, which he didn’t have for anyone except his mother from his past life. Maybe the rats too… he did like those rats a whole lot.

Behind him, he heard the bumping of Zeff peg leg on the wooden floors. “That’s enough. Fucking lazy, all of you. We still have a few customers left, don’t we? Get to it!” He shouted, folding his arms across his torso.

A chorus of frightened ‘yes Zeff’s filled the kitchen before being replaced by the rapid ringing of the bell.

“Zeff, don’t you think Sanji can come down with us tonight? It’ll be good for him.” Dijon asked, hands busy with cutting vegetables.

“No.” Zeff said stiffly.

Sanji turned to look at him. The kitchen filled with silence, only the soft sizzling of pans could be heard.

“Why the fuck not? Sanji even passed the test!” Carne argued, his veins showing in his forehead.

“Too big of a risk. Get back to work.” Zeff looked down at him, hardening his eyes.

The cutting resumed but the chefs were quiet still. Glancing at Zeff in disapproval.

“And why the fuck is that? ‘Too big of a risk’, bullshit, that’s what that is!” Carne put down his knife, turning to Zeff fully now, stretching out his neck and clenching his fists.

Zeff was quiet, he wasn’t one to be quiet. Then Sanji understood why.

“It’s because of my family isn’t it…” Sanji felt like kicking something, go spar with Zeff, kick one of those metal blocks Zeff let him destroy each time.

“Your _family_? That shit doesn’t matter now, you're with us now!” Carne was fuming with rage.

Zeff sighed. He glanced at Sanji, asking for permission to tell them, which he gave by a tiny nod.

“Vinsmokes aren’t like normal families. They think he’s dead, it’s best to keep it that way.” Zeff said grimly.

Sanji squeezes his eyes shut, waiting for the kicks and hits. He had learned more about the Vinsmokes after he escaped, they terrorized more villages than he thought, killing way more people to be able to put on paper. They were absolutely despised in the north now that they had left - _he_ was absolutely despised now that he had left. Sanji was pretty sure that they wouldn’t hesitate to kill for information about him if someone knew he was alive, then they would probably kill him. When nothing came, Sanji peeked up. The chefs were staring at him, not out of hate but out of sympathy. He usually didn’t like sympathy but it felt welcomed in the moment.

Patty groaned and began to massage his shoulders. “You know what, I’m so fucking tired of making soufflés, they’re so boring and shit. Why don’t you make them, little brat? Then I get to rest for the rest of the day.” he looked at him, groaning yet again when Sanji met his eyes. He was way too obvious with his little act.

“The soup’s really fucking boring to make too. Sanji, you’re on soup duty.” Carne groaned out, following Patty’s lead.

The other cooks followed shortly, giving him their spots in the kitchen - all of his favorites; seafood, muffins and pies - he would even get to ring the bell, everything they knew he complained about not being able to do.

Sanji stared up at Zeff, wondering why they didn’t hate him. He just stared back, a cocky grin on his lips and eyebrows high on his face in amusement.

Sanji walked forward carefully, hopping up on his stool to stir the soup while Zeff’s smile only grew larger. He smiled, he really loved his home.

•••

Sanji skipped down the stairs, the morning and lunch rushes were over by now, only a few guests were in so Sanji took the opportunity to see if Zoro was down by the mountains.

The demon’s company was actually quite nice, even if they didn’t technically talk they could still communicate. It was strange to think that Zoro was his only friend at the moment, something that made Sanji a bit sad, but happy in a way too, he had a friend after all.

He missed his usual time with Zoro, the sunrise had become their private time. It was nice and refreshing to be still in time for an hour just to talk to Zoro.

Stretching his wings for the first time that day, Sanji stared out to the clouds, Zoro would most likely appear on the side where the sky road couldn’t reach. It was a strange thing, the sky road. He had heard about the consequences other dimensions faced because of it yet it was so weak around the portal and where it was actually located that only one side of a mountain could be affected.

A patch of grass moved on the top of one mountain, _there you are_ , Sanji thought and flew toward Zoro.

The training he had done to his observation haki had done him a great service, not only could he zoom in on things but now he could also see through some walls if he focused enough. It helped him to find Zoro much faster.

The portal below him shone as he flew past it, reminding his yet again of the distance between the two. He landed on what looked to be a good cloud and looked down at Zoro.

He was shirtless, back turned towards him. He had more muscles than Sanji initially thought, it suited him somehow. The marimo also had a sword in each hand and one in… his mouth. What good would that do? It looked absolutely ridiculous. Sanji giggled to himself at the sight.

As if Zoro could hear him, he turned his head around, locking eyes with him for a brief second only to look away. He sheathed his swords - or katanas, as Zoro had insisted Sanji to call them - and turned around to face him.

It was then Sanji saw the horrendous scar running from Zoro’s hip to shoulder, splitting his torso up diagonally. Sanji took a small breath and held it there, staring with wide eyes at the scar. It wasn’t red or oozing with pus, rather the opposite, it was old and healed but that made the thought even more terrifying. How old had he been when he got that?

Sanji thought of his father instantly, at the scars he had received from him and the many more his brothers gave him. Were there people like him? Did other people experience that too? Had Zoro experienced that? Did he know what it was like to be beaten bloody by his own family?

Zoro was looking down at himself now, realization marred his face, he bent down quickly to pick up that white shirt he always wore, pulling it over his head and sticking his wings through the holes at the back with ease. He stretched out his arms then, showing Sanji that he was fine.

The only thing Sanji could think of was how that scar now stretched across his chest. Was it uncomfortable still? Like his scars were, did it itch and raise his skin where it shouldn’t?

The first thing Sanji had signed Zoro the day before was ‘hurt’, he did that again this day, crossing his finger over his heart once and tilting his head. He didn’t know if it was a question of a statement but he knew that at some point, Zoro had been damn close to dying.

Just like the day before, Zoro stopped his worries, he shook his head and pressed down on the scar under his shirt to show that it didn’t hurt at all.

Sanji sat down then, tried to calm down some more by signing to Zoro: “ _Katana in mouth?_ ”

They had established that a tilt of the head meant it was a question, it was surprisingly easy to understand the other like this, they had very similar minds it seemed, completely different from what he had heard about demons as a small child.

“ _Fight better._ ” Zoro signed back, putting his white sword back in his mouth and shifting his head a bit. The snowy rocks to his side split in two and tumbled down the steep mountain hill, splitting yet again as they made impact.

He looked back at Zoro who was smirking as he put the white katana in its sheet again, proud of his little demonstration. A pirate had to be strong after all.

Zoro looked at him again when his swords were fully sheathed yet again, he sat down and made himself as comfortable one could be sitting on a pile of rocks. “ _Do you fight?_ ” he signed to him.

Of course he would want to talk about fighting, during the short time Sanji had gotten to know Zoro he had quickly realized that Zoro was very obsessed with his swords and anything regarding them.

As much as he wanted to boast about his own skills, he really didn’t know much about fighting anyone except Zeff, so he only signed back: “ _A little, I fight with my legs._ ”

Zoro liked the answer though, he asked him to show him, which he didn’t do since the only thing around him was floating clumped up water, it wouldn’t look very cool to break apart clouds when he could do it with his fingers if he wanted. Zoro looked a bit disappointed at his answer, he asked him to show him in ten years instead.

Sanji looked at with with confusion written all over his face. Ten years, why the hell would he wait _ten years_ to show him that?

Zoro’s smile faltered, “ _Leaving in 4 days, back in 10 years._ ” he signed to him, looking sorrowful at the fact.

“ _Why?_ ” Sanji’s head tilted a bit too much a bit too fast, his neck cracked loudly and his eyes squinted in further confusion. Was he serious? Ten years?

Zoro was uncomfortable now, Sanji could see, his shoulders were stiff and he glanced away from Sanji’s eyes as much as possible. “ _Pirate_.” he answered him.

Yes, Sanji knew that he was a pirate, Zeff had been a damn pirate too but he didn’t left anyone for ten years...had he? Was that the life of a pirate? Zoro would leave again after he came back wouldn’t he? His father was right, everyone around him hated him, he was a disappointment, his only friend was leaving for god's sake.

Sanji’s eyes were tearing up. Fuck, he wasn’t about to cry in front of Zoro, he was done crying. He angrily blinked back the tears, taking three deep breaths in order to calm down. Sanji smiled a bit at Zoro, it was okay for him to leave, Sanji wouldn’t be lonely, he had Zeff, ten years would fly by in an instant, he tried to tell himself.

Zoro didn’t smile or turn red around the cheeks like he would usually do, he watched him carefully instead, no real emotion on his face except for his eyes, they lacked the round pupil normal eyes had. They looked like the eyes of a kitty, slim and sharp, slight color showing at the edges.

Sanji turned his gaze away from his piercing eyes to look at the cloud he was sitting on. The edges were dissolving slowly as the wind blew, shifting together into small clumps and soon forming another small cloud. It didn’t rain from them, it never did up in heaven, even though the clouds were made out of water, they just shifted and formed in all eternity. He didn’t even know how they got there if they wouldn’t go away.

He turned to look at Zoro again, something he quickly realized was a big mistake since his gaze was even harder than before. Did the boy ever blink?

Staring wouldn’t do much more than it already did so Sanji tried out a new approach. With quick movements, Sanji signed to Zoro: “ _Tell me about pirates._ ” He wasn’t sure if Zoro caught the message, it had been but a blur in Sanji’s eyes, it did lighten the mood enough for Sanji to look into Zoro’s eyes.

Finally, Zoro blinked, once, then twice. He fumbled with his belt for a while, then pulled out the small knife he had with his last time. Maybe he was as stuck on swords as Sanji was on cooking.

He wrote carefully, knowing that it was difficult for Sanji to read the letters themself and that it would only make it harder for Sanji if he wrote in his usual messy handwriting.

‘ _Luffy, Nami, Chopper, Usopp, Vivi, Torao, Robin._ ’, Zoro had written in the rocks.

He did some kind of motion on top of his head and had a bright grin on his face, it was fake and only there to mimic someone but it was still a nice thing to look at. He pointed at ‘Luffy’ and wrote down ‘captain’ over his name.

Zoro looked proud to call him that, chest puffed out and back as straight as Zeff’s chef’s hat. So this Luffy was the captain. Sanji could imagine a large demon of around 300 years, maybe a little younger, with lots of scars on his body and a large smile across his face, maybe a diamond tooth glinting amongst the few he had left.

Zoro did something of the likes with every name he wrote down, to Sanji’s surprise even ‘Chopper’ and ‘Torao’ were names. Demons sure called their children strange things.

The three names that stuck out to him, Nami, Vivi and Robin, were indeed selected by his wonderful instincts to detect beautiful ladies. He asked about them - something Zoro looked more than beyond annoyed with - in hopes to gather more information about them.

Were they kind? Maybe they weren’t, Sanji didn’t really care, ladies were ladies and were to be treated like goddesses. Did they have powers? Could they turn men into stone like he heard some of them could do, maybe men dropped dead instead just by gazing at their beauty.

Zeff had told him many times that women were nothing like the vulgar men they lived with. No, ladies were above them in every way possible, that was why they would never to be kicked, never do anything they deemed to be below them and if Sanji ever let them do so, Zeff had failed as the role of a parent. He still wasn’t Zeff’s son, but Zeff was Sanji’s parent. That had been enough reason for him to follow Zeff around and mimic how he acted to women for a whole month.

Apparently Vivi was a princess, a demoness princess. Her sign were small circling of Zoro’s little fingers, something way too ordinary for a god damned beautiful princess.

He liked how open Zoro was when he signed about them, how he smiled without knowing or made up knew gestures without explaining what they were because he was too excited to talk about them. But Sanji didn’t like how it made him think he would be abandoned again. Zoro had other friends, people he had known for quite some time and probably lived together with. Sanji was just some boy he couldn’t talk to or meet, probably never would…

He stood up, deciding he’d had enough. He wouldn’t meet Zoro, ever, that was way too dangerous but he could still talk to him and he was going to do everything he could to make him stay. This was his only friend, The Baratie wouldn’t take in anyone else around his age or anyone else for that matter now that they had enough chefs and waiters and Sanji wouldn’t get the same opportunity he had with Zoro twice.

He told Zoro to wait, thinking to himself that it was rude for him to cut him off like that. Zoro was scrunched up his face, annoyed for being interrupted but waited nonetheless.

Sprinting off the cloud, Sanji folded out his wings and glided to The Baratie. He ran to the kitchen and opened the fridge room. He had kept some of the meat he had made in the morning to practice making rare stakes instead of his usual medium rare.

He grabbed an empty box from the shelf behind him and stuffed the steak in it, using a heating dial to warm it up. He stalked out of The Baratie, avoiding the other chefs as he did so and flew back to Zoro who was patiently sitting down and scratching out the names he wrote to hide the fact that he had been there.

Sanji held up the shiny box, then put it under his arm to sign to Zoro: “ _I’m throwing the box to you._ ” It wasn’t against the rules, objects from the heavens could easily pass through the portal, angels did it all the time to other angels in the human realm, or if they just wanted to throw something away. The Chefs carried the boxes down to the humans all the time as well for the feedings, giving them food in exchange for different kinds of plants.

Zoro stood up now, eyes wide and arms stretched out, ready to catch the box.

Sanji threw the box into the air, something he internally cringed about since it was his little masterpiece rattling inside that shiny thing. He brought his leg height up above his head and aimed for Zoro’s arms as he kicked the box with a sharp twist of his feet. He saw Zoro’s eyes widened further, then crouching down slightly when he realized the heavy impact the box would hit him with. As expected, it sailed through the portal with ease, picking up its speed before it landed in Zoro’s arms.

Zoro stared up at him with a grin, “ _Strong._ ”, he signed when he had put down the box.

Sanji’s face was bright red, his hands too and maybe even his wings if that was even possible. He pointed to the box in hopes to distract Zoro from his flustered face, “ _Open it, Marimo._ ”, he signed to Zoro, looking anywhere but at him.

Zoro must’ve smelled the meat, because he teared the box open in an instant and lifted the steak up to his mouth to take a bite. He ate like an animal, or perhaps it was just the way demons ate their food, he ripped into it with his teeth, shaking his head side to side while holding the rest of the meat in his hands. The juices were dripping down his hands and Sanji hoped to himself that Zoro would lick it off so no food would be wasted.

Zoro did the same thing with his second bite, even though the meat was tender. It had to be some kind of habit then, was he one of those demons who hunted their own food? Oh god, he probably ate everything raw, that couldn’t be good for his health, not to mention the wasted meat he could turn into art.

How the fuck did Zoro manage to chow down that big of a steak in only three bites? It would have taken Sanji at least ten minutes to eat it. But at least Zoro did lick off all the residue from his messy eating habits, of course he had, Sanji’s cooking was damn good. Zoro appeared to think so too, he looked up at him - or rather at his hands, at his feet, the ground beside him, any place he could have hidden more of what he just got. He wanted to be discreet about it, his shoulders were stiff and his head hadn’t moved a single inch, Sanji knew good food won over everything though.

“ _Good?_ ” Sanji signed to him, smirking when Zoro looked away and stuffed his hands in his pant pockets.

Zoro signed back just by nodding his head in certain directions. Sanji still understood perfectly: “ _No, it was shit._ ” he meant.

Sanji giggled to himself and showed his middle finger to Zoro, something Zoro had done to him the day before, he didn’t really know what it meant but he knew it was provocative.

Thus began the chain of insults yet again, another ‘ _Marimo_ ’ another ‘ _Curly_ ’ along with a new one: ‘ _Shit cook_ ’, it was the worst of insults but Sanji knew he meant well.

Sanji could hear a little more noise than welcomed to his left, The Baratie was at one of its rushes again. The customers were swarming outside, he could only hear a soft humming but they knew they were quite loud, they were always loud enough to have the chefs screaming at each other in order to make word of what was said.

He looked down to Zoro, who held the buckled box in his hands. He made a throwing motion to Sanji and he felt his whole body tense up at what he was asking.

He frantically shook his head, waved with his hands in large motions to make sure Zoro really understood. Things touched by a demon was never to enter the heavens, no matter if they were invited or not. In rare cases, objects tainted by the demons were blessed by the gods and allowed to enter but that hadn’t happened for a few hundred years.

Zoro seemed to understand his state of panic, he lowered his hands and put down the box, smiling sheepishly in an apology.

“ _Yours_.” Sanji signed, it wasn’t like Zoro would want a broken box anyway but at least it was some sort of petty excuse of a present.

The humming of the customers grew louder by the minute, Sanji’s ears were going to bleed by the time the day was over.

He put up his hands and waved goodbye to Zoro, watching Zoro, for once, wave back with the same enthusiasm he had.

•••

The next three days went by slowly, he was busy cooking all day long after he was allowed to cook for the humans too and his mind was busy with the thought of Zoro leaving, it would be strange, not having a marimo practically growing on his back.

Zoro somehow always knew when Sanji’s shift had ended, he was always there after the morning shift, waiting for Sanji to show up. When he did, Zoro would be meditating or training, with his shirt on these times.

Sanji would give Zoro food that he made at night, kicking it down with ease every time, Zoro gave the same look he had the first time; ‘ _strong_ ’, Zoro thought Sanji was strong. Never had he gotten such a compliment and it made it even better that it came from Zoro.

Zoro in turn would tell him anything he wanted to know, mostly about pirates and their adventures. He liked Arabasta the most, he always enjoyed the fruits from tropical places and Arabasta sure had tons of different options for him to imagine about.

Sanji told Zoro things that he wanted to know too, though he wasn’t very good at asking questions, always signed the wrong things even though he knew what he signed made no sense. Most of the questions were about him; how old he was, about what he liked, what didn’t he like, how had he learned to cook, why did his eyebrows look like question marks?

One of Sanji’s questions was about Zoro’s demon heritage. Apparently, Zoro wasn’t a marimo demon at all, he was nothing marimo related, really, which just made his hair situation even more hilarious, it was naturally green and it did absolutely _nothing_ to help him in survival, the green was so striking it would make people think someone had cursed a patch of moss for some reason. He also told him he had no idea what he was, he didn’t have parents so no one had told him. That part Sanji understood.

The day Zoro would take his leave, Sanji had showed up extra early, and just like he suspected, Zoro was there extra early as well. He had different kinds of clothes on, lighter than usual, that stupid haramaki still snug around his stomach.

They didn’t sign to each other much that day, mostly insults. Zoro asked him if he would still talk to him when he came back, to which Sanji replied ‘ _yes, stupid moss._ ’ And kicked down another one of his delicious meals for Zoro to rip apart, he had made a little extra that night so Zoro would get more to chew on.

Zoro took out his knife after his meal, he did that less frequently the more they signed to each other, their little language was easy to understand for the two of them after all.

He didn’t write words like Sanji thought he would’ve, because he always did. No, this time Zoro carved out a symbol instead - his symbol.

Demons had their own little sigils of summoning, but Sanji had never taken it seriously, he only thought it was some useless thing since people barely used it anymore.

Zoro’s sigil was simple; one large circle, then a second one within the first, inside were three diagonal lines, each one connected to the second circle.

Under it he had written ‘ _remember it’_ , then he crossed it all out, waved and disappeared into a portal hole.

Sanji was confused, slightly hurt at the abrupt goodbye, if that was even called a goodbye. But after a few days he understood why Zoro hadn’t waited for Sanji’s goodbye; they would see each other again in ten years, there was no need for a goodbye.

Sanji did remember Zoro's sigil very well, he frequently drew it on his wrist with his finger, sometimes in his soup while he stirred it in hopes to never forget it. His muscles would remember the sigil better than his mind so he could never forget.

Curiosity got to him after a while, he had no idea what the sigil did expect summon Zoro and he didn’t really know how that worked either so he searched in Zeff’s bookshelf for the one book he had about demons.

He found himself laughing in disbelief at what he read from the thick book; demons didn’t give their sigils to others, they just didn’t do it. It held too much power, someone could call them anytime and essentially trap them or kill them. Demons tended to kill anyone who even knew their name. It was the one weakness every single demon had.

Why the fuck did Zoro give him something like that then? God, was he stupid? Sanji could summon him right this moment and he would be slaughtered for entering the angel’s realm, if that was even possible through summoning. He would be like some sort of servant to Sanji, he was essentially giving him a key to Zoro’s freedom. Shit, Zoro was such a big fucking idiot, the moss must’ve grown into his brain and fucked it up badly.

Sanji closed the book, curling himself into a little ball, taking one of his wings into his arms and stroking the soft feathers. His throat burned, his chest too, and his eyes were blurring. He blinked a few times, _no crying_ , he told himself, _no more crying_. The droplets already fell down on his wing, wetting the soft feathers bit by bit. His head was spinning from all the emotions and thoughts currently swarming up there. He choked up, more tears fell down, this time he didn’t stop them. His feathers are soaking in his tears. Sanji was fairly certain his face was covered in them by now. He wrapped his other wing around himself and dipped his head down, letting his wings cover him and shield him from the outside world. Fuck, he would be so lonely these next ten years.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have the sixth chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, all the faults in it were made by yours truly so please tell me if you have any concerns, feedback, or just want to say something.
> 
> See you all next time!


	7. Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I’m very sorry this posted a little later than I usually post but I really hope you all enjoy it!

  
Lately, the ocean reminded Zoro of Sanji. Maybe it was the deep blue, which was the exact color Sanji’s eyes possessed and the exact color the glow around his wings were. Maybe it was the ferocious waves that made him think of the way Sanji’s eyes lit up with rage. Maybe it was that tiny factor that Zoro had not seen those deep eyes for fourteen years and _stones_ had recently reminded Zoro of Sanji's feet.

But the beautiful ocean wasn’t blue in this case, it didn’t show any resemblance to Sanji at all. The ocean he was staring at was colored orange. Orange from all the flames that came from their fallen friend, their fallen Merry.

He could hear her voice, he knew everyone else could too if their soft sobbing was anything to go by. In Usopp’s case it was a desperate cry behind his mask in his form of goodbye, he did love Merry a lot. They all did.

Luffy was screaming, saying that _they_ should be sorry, not Merry, she did nothing wrong. He was right, they _should_ be sorry, for running on her and bringing filth on her, for fighting on her and damaging her, for sending Luffy crashing into her and breaking some of her. They should be sorry.

Zoro was the only one not crying, he would grief for their fallen nakama in his own way, preferably by drinking his own feelings and then train until he passed out on the floor from the pain. Maybe shed a tear or two but convincing himself it was because of the pain in his muscles and not the black pool inside his heart.

Even Franky, a man who they just met a few month back, was crying. His feeling were strong, might’ve been a malfunction in his engineering project on himself, or maybe it was just him and his incredibly loud emotions he felt the need to convey to everyone listening.

They would travel home soon enough. One year left on building Water 7’s new protection wall for tsunamis, then they would go home to the underground. Zoro would get an extra home, his childhood home, the home where he and Kuina grew up in. It wouldn't feel right that they would be traveling home without Merry to lean on.

Zoro had only lived in his childhood home for a few years before Kuina died. Since it was on human ground and near human villages, Koshiro could not keep living there. The day before the crew’s leave, Koshiro had told him he would be moving yet again. No one could know he was a cambion, his life had to be remote and ordinary, being over 400 years old and look like the human 40 was apparently not very normal. So Koshiro had left Zoro with the humane home, a Japanese home with thin paper walls and tables so low they shouldn’t even be called tables.

When they traveled back to Water 7, mood gloomy from seeing their nakama fall, he could see the rebuilding of the city was going strong. Houses once submerged in water were now drained and reconstructed in order to withstand the water damage.

Luffy was a great leader, he didn’t know very much about rebuilding, he would surely destroy more than he built but he knew how to motivate and how to make people listen, or more importantly, do.

Franky was an absolute genius with his tools and all. Everything he built was done to perfection and finished with a few colorful decorations on top. The city looked anew and the people happier, even if they worked till sundown to make progress.

There was a wall around the city now, still in construction but he could see that it would someday become a great asset to the people. It was made of materials from portals, making it somewhat translucent without having objects pass through it. It would shield the city from another tsunami and hopefully from enemy attacks. Though he wasn’t sure any enemy would want to deal with Luffy, now that his reputation perceived him as the devil himself.

With heavy steps, Zoro made his way into town, he would buy some new oil for his swords to distract him from his gloomy mood. There were people running around, mostly merpeople and other water accustomed creatures but there were a few rare demons there; a gorgon held her child’s hand as they turned wooden planks into stone with their glowing green eyes; an elf was running around with bricks in his hands and a helmet on top of his head, placing them in the hands of a minotaur who put them on top of his mountain of bricks launched on his shoulder.

There was a food stand open, serving the ones working. It was small, only one old demon was working there, cutting vegetables with a strange looking knife.

Zoro walked up to him, staring at the knife and the technique he used to cut with it. His hand had to be straight, strong, little to no motion was being made but the _chuck chuck_ of the knife hitting the cutting board was almost too fast for his ears to catch.

“Little Algae, what are you doing standing here? You look strong, should be working like others.” The elderly man said, voice shaking but body still held steady like a fighter.

“Looking for the center of the city, passed through here on the way. And I’m not an algae.” Zoro scowled, still staring at the knife chopping greens with ease. Maybe Zoro could use something like that technique to hit Luffy the next time he stole his food.

“The center? It’s the other way around, boy. Turn around and walk back.” The man scoffed at him, shoving all the vegetables down in boiling water to cook.

“No, it’s here. I’m sure of it.” Zoro looked at the man now that he stopped cutting. He didn’t look very much like a typical demon, more like a human hybrid. There were no horns or wings or anything, though that could also be a way to deceive others.

“Poor boy. Well, then you better stay here and eat. Do you have money?” The man held out his hand, expecting to see Berries placed in it.

“The witch took it all.” Zoro grunted out, looking back at the knife now. Waiting for the man to use it again.

“A witch? She must’ve been a looker I bet, to trick a young grumpy child like you.” The man teased him, smirking now.

A growl escaped his throat as he turned to glare at the man, Zoro hated when people talked about Nami that way, in any way.

The man only chuckled, closing his eyes and sighed. “I see, someone you know then, I apologise” He picked up the strange knife again, “Do you know how to use it?” The man asked, motioning with the knife and raising his brows at Zoro.

“No.” Zoro admitted. He both hated and loved to lack knowledge about something regarding swords or knifes. It showed him he could become stronger than before but it also showed him how much stronger he had yet to become. It was both frustrating and exciting at the same time.

Again, the man scoffed at him. “Thought so, I only know one man who can use it and he sure ain’t one to be with you lot, not anymore.” he continued to mumble and started cutting up vegetables again.

“‘You lot’? What’s that supposed to mean, old man?” Zoro asked in frustration, this man was getting in his nerves.

“Demons, Little Algae. He ain’t one to be with demons, not anymore at least, you hear?” he carefully put down his knife again to bring more vegetables to the cutting board.

“You’re a demon too.” Zoro said, he hated old people, never got to the case.

“Me? What the hell are you on about, huh? I’m a damn hybrid can’t you see?” his wrinkled hands pointed at himself, staring Zoro in the eye whilst doing so.

Hybrids weren’t rare, they were all over the place and most of the time one couldn’t even guess they were hybrids. However, Zoro was fairly certain the old man wasn’t talking about demon hybrids, he was talking about angel hybrids. Humans and angels who conceived children together or worse; demons and angels who conceived children together. This man looked like a human though, he walked the same clumsy way humans did and had that dull look in his eyes too. Even if Zoro knew, he still asked dumbly: “Angel hybrid?”

To which the man stared at his stupidity and pointed to himself again and said: “A fucking angel. Stupid algae.”

“Have you been up there?” Zoro asked, he wanted to know what it was like, how Sanji lived; were there markets there? Houses? What were their weapons made of? What did they talk like?

“What do you think, Little Algae? I’m banned from that place, why the hell would I be here if I could be up there or even with the humans?” He spitted out with a scowl. “Idiots, all of them. Can’t even take in humans to their damn land.” he muttered angrily.

The _chuck chuck_ of the knife was more aggressive than before, a threatening pause in between every _chuck_.

The man walked over to the meal he was cooking, he brought up a spoon to his mouth and took a bite of whatever it was. He clicked his tongue after a moment of thinking, dug his bony hand into a bag and brought it up holding a small scoop with salt. A few moments later, he fished a new spoon out and held it out for Zoro.

“Taste some, I can never figure out you demons’ taste buds.” he grunted out while tasting some for himself.

The stew, gumbo, soup, whatever it was, was _delicious_ ; it was bloody, meaty, not too much spice, and thank fuck; not too sweet.

“I’ve tasted better.” Zoro lied. Sanji’s food tasted amazing, it suited his tastes just right and he was pretty damn sure Sanji poured fresh blood on it just for him since he could never imagine Sanji eating that. But this gumbo thing really blew him away. He wondered if Sanji's food was this good now. The bastard had spoiled him and his taste buds. Everything tasted like shit after the first meal he received from Sanji.

Seeming satisfied with Zoro’s answer, the man turned to taste some more of his own dish, trying to remember the taste for next time. “This salt sure works wonders.” the man mumbled for himself.

Zoro looked at him, “The salt?” he asked, glancing at the large brown bag on the counter.

The man hummed, “It’s special. The tsunami causes it to become like that. Now that the wall is up I’m going to have to gather the salt from the rocks instead of the rooftops so I guess that’s good, don’t have to worry about falling.” The man laughed, crow's feet carving deeper in his old skin.

“Yeah, Franky did good on that.” Zoro nodded to himself, glad that the man would be joining them soon enough, even if it was beyond his own knowledge.

“Franky? You know Franky?” the man asked with a hint of surprise in his voice, “Now that I think about it… You look like one of them rookies… Strawhats was it?” for the first time, the man smiled at him.

“That’s us.” Zoro answered proudly. He had thought ‘Strawhats’ was a name too silly for their crew when he first met Luffy. It made their enemies underestimate them when they looked at their flag and laugh at them. The satisfaction he received from proving them wrong was always worth it though.

“I see, I see. Then I suppose I owe you a favor, Young Algae. Information? Maybe a map since you seem to be in need of one? Just not free food, I need the money.” the man said with a grunt, turning to his vegetables again.

Before Zoro really knew what he was saying, the words flew out of his mouth: “Can you send the salt up there?” _to Sanji_ , he thought, _can you send it up to Sanji?_

The man looked surprised, why wouldn’t he, he probably thought Zoro was as smart as the carrot he was peeling. “No… Well yes I could but I’m not so sure if I should, I’m technically a fallen one so...” he said uncomfortably then continued: ”How about this: I give you some. You have to be careful about touching it, you probably know how careful they are about things, those angels. There are loopholes however, if you give it to the humans they might pass it on to the angels. It’s only a maybe so don’t get your hopes up, boy.” he said quickly, looking around to make sure nobody heard.

“How much can you give me?” Zoro asked, he would accept any amount, really. He was just excited to give Sanji a gift of his own.

The man shuffled around in his stand, then pulled up a large wooden box and put a bag in it, identical to the one with the salt.

“This is going to be tricky.” the man said, “The humans have to touch the salt, since I’ve already touched it. And angels have to touch it too, alright? Otherwise it won’t work.” he said as he closed the box and handed it over to Zoro. “Good luck, Little Algae.” he said as a goodbye.

Zoro nodded to him, thanking him in his own way. If this would work then he could surely do this again. Sanji had talked about how the others got most of their supplies from Earth, if he was lucky, they might carry the salt up with them when they were down on human ground. He really hoped that they would.

The salt Zoro got from the man was stored in the galley, The Sunny’s galley. It was gathering dust from being hidden there for a whole year now but at least no one had discovered it behind all the other bags of salt and flour.

The Sunny was a beautiful ship, with all the different colors and rooms personalized for each one in the crew. Franky had somehow dug into his mind and found out he liked to train by himself, undisturbed in silence so thick it even scared the insects away. The crow's nest was perfect for him, no one came up there unless they were on watch, he had his own stash of alcohol and all the training material he needed.

But no matter how perfect Sunny was for them, they all still missed Merry, always would miss her.

Franky was with them now, just like they all knew he would be, the newest addition to their crew. He was the second adult on the ship too, along with Robin. Even though he was well over 300 years, he acted like a little kid demon of 50.

Franky spent most of his days in his workshop, tinkering along with Usopp who went on and on about what he learnt from Franky that day. It had been sweet the first day, seeing Usopp so excited that someone on the ship shared his interests, now it was just annoying. Zoro didn’t need to know how electricity could be made into light, they had magic for that, they didn’t need it.

They would be returning to demon ground in a few hours, the portal wasn’t fully stable so it was difficult for Nami to steer them through it smoothly when everything was shifting and turning around them. The bottom of the portal looked the same as the top, everything was confusing. No one could blame him if he said left was right during these few strange hours.

Zoro could barely wait to see Sanji. It had been around fifteen years since he last saw him, more than he initially thought and said to Sanji so he hoped he hadn’t forgotten all about him when Zoro certainly hadn’t. On the contrary, Zoro had thought about the little angel almost every day.

The portal they were sailing through was shifting from orange and purple to a deep vibrant red. It was a sight he had gotten used to over the years, it meant that another adventure was over, they would be home soon enough.

Franky walked up behind him, he hadn’t learned the unspoken rules of the ship yet but he would in time. No one walked up behind Zoro, especially while he had his swords nearby - which was all the time. It wasn’t an important one, it mostly regarded Usopp in the beginning of their journey but Zoro liked the rule so they stuck with it. Luffy’s rule was of much more importance, not for Luffy but for everyone else on the ship; food was not to be discussed unless Luffy brought it up. It was forbinned and punishable by dishduty for a week.

“ _Ow_! So we’re going to The Underground?” Franky asked with excitement, something between a smirk and a grin stuck on his face. His large arms were crossed over his chest and his hair was as shiny as his metal nose under the portal’s light.

Zoro snapped his gaze at him, an old habit of his to make sure there was no danger, then stared back out at the portal and hummed in response.

“Never been there.” Franky continued, leaning on the rail and stroking it softly, quietly admiring his own work with his hands.

Zoro hummed again. Shit, he wanted Zoro to _talk_? He better learn the rules quickly, Zoro only talked if there was alcohol involved.

“Hey, I was wondering about something…” Franky started off, “Can I use that metal from, you know, up there?” he whispered and pointed upwards, not wanting to say the word. Right, angel troops had killed his father hadn’t they? Those bastards patrolled around everywhere when they were bored.

It angered almost every demon out there that angels who worked for the arch demons were welcome on demon ground. They terrorised villages and plundered them as if they were demons themselves, none of them got punished for it however. As long as they did what they were told to do, they could do whatever they wanted in return.

“No.” Zoro answered shortly, the metal boxes were from Sanji. Some of them were indented and unusable from the harsh kicks he had given them to fly down but they were still gifts from Sanji and they were his to keep.

“Why not?” Franky asked him, a small frown replacing his grin. Great, now he thought Zoro was insane.

“Hoarding.” he answered simply. His cheeks were burning from the embarrassment. He wasn't lying, he had kept them with the intention to keep the boxes with his other items. He hated to admit that he was a hoarder - not that it was unusual, Usopp and Nami were hoarders too but they hoarded good things; weapons, riches and other things that they could use in the future. Zoro just picked up things and stuffed them around his bed, mostly broken swords. He didn’t like to see them laying around so he took them with him instead.

Franky laughed though, the bastard thought it was amusing to see Zoro so flustered but he nodded after some time and told him he wouldn’t ask again. “How did you even find it? It took _super_ long to find the metal I used for my arms.” he rolled his R’s on his tongue and hit his left arm with his right, making it give of _clonk clonk_ as it made impact. Zoro had almost forgotten about his arms, they looked normal enough, the only oddity being the large bumps on his forearms.

Zoro shrugged, “It fell down and I caught it.” he avoided telling the whole truth, it would do neither him or Sanji good.

“Oh? Man, you were _super_ lucky!” Franky laughed again, putting his hands on his small hips and brought his head back so far that his neck almost folded in on itself.

He felt Robin look at them, not with her normal eyes, she was looking at them with those other eyes. He hated her powers, they were creepy - even for Zoro - and she could do way too much with them. She had proved her loyalty to them, Zoro didn’t mind her as much anymore, not after what happened on Enies Lobby a few months prior. She was still creepy as shit however, using corpses as her second eyes and ears. Zoro only ate them, she used them as puppets. He was sure that she had heard their conversation and he had his mind set on that she would ask him about it later. She was interested in anything involving the angels and the gods after all.

It must’ve been around lunchtime, Luffy was awake and running again, he would be screaming for food in about 10 minutes if Zoro knew him well enough.

Franky walked away from Zoro to try to distract Luffy with something until his stomach started rumbling. That was another unspoken rule of the crew but it was one that Franky had caught on quickly. He was telling Luffy that they should play a game to see who's arm could stretch longer, Luffy’s with his powers or Franky’s with his chains. Zoro sighed. The ship Franky built would be destroyed within 5 minutes.

Chopper was done with his studies in the new infirmary, he had spent the whole day in there the day before, his bright laughter spilling out through the walls from time to time. Zoro had tried to not let his lips twitch upward at the innocent sound but it was a near impossible task.

Usopp made his way to the kitchen, trying to be discreet about it as to not be discovered by Luffy. It had been a rough couple of days for Usopp, he was still a little wary around them, the fight between Luffy and Usopp had been something that affected the whole crew in a lot of ways but Zoro knew he would be back to normal in no time. If it was Usopp’s turn in the kitchen, they would be eating either chili or fish with fresh chili on it. There was no option three, the only ones who knew how to make three dishes on the ship was Robin and Nami and since Nami required payment for cooking she didn’t count.

_We could really need a cook like Sanji by now._ Zoro thought as he sat down to take a nap...

Zoro woke up just in time to see the shifting in the portal; from the wine red to a mix between reds and blues. The colors never touched, they just mingled together in a confusing mess that made Zoro’s head turn.

Nami was shouting at everyone, keeping them organized in their own mess; Franky was at the wheel, he looked to be having a hard time, pushing his feet into the ground and baring his teeth, Robin and her many hands were holding the sails, a purple flower sign glowing under each dismembered limb, she - like always - looked at ease, Luffy, Usopp and Chopper were dragging things around the ship, from ropes and barrels to boxes filled with gold and diamonds.

Zoro rose to his feet, taking out his katanas to cut up a few fish flying up in the air from the large waves, they would be dinner for them.

“Zoro! _Fuck_ , it’s _great_ that you’re awake! Go to the fucking storage and make sure nothing went missing! The door is open because _someone_ forgot to close the damn thing!” Nami shouted at him and glared at Luffy. She was obviously angry with him for sleeping through the whole ordeal. He walked a little faster than he normally did, he hated to admit it but when Nami was mad he got a few chills running down his spine.

The chaos went on for another hour, the wind changing directions every couple of seconds and ancient sea creatures coming up to the surface to give them a surprise.

When they finally got out of the portal, they arrived at a small island populated by some bird like demons. They were nice enough, helped them unload empty boxes and fill them with food. They were hunters like Zoro but they hunted in the air, unlike him who preferred to hunt on ground. They let him kill a couple of animals; bisons and sheep among them.

Zoro had missed the feeling of blood rushing in his body and down his katanas, of the few seconds of calming satisfaction he got after every heart he ripped out and after each throat he slit. Water 7 didn't have many animals or space to hunt them. The hunters who lived there had to kill their food in the ocean or travel elsewhere when they got the urges.

After Zoro’s much needed hunt, he formed a portal to the human realm to seek after Sanji. He landed in the air when he got out of the small portal. His body had remembered the sensation from all those years ago and worked on its own, folding out his wings and steadily bringing him to a floating state.

The Baratie was above him, it looked the same as before. The same fish head sticking out from the front and the same letters on the side. He never knew he could miss a wooden fish as much as he did.

In one of the windows, he could see Sanji. His blond hair was over his face so those captivating eyes of his were hidden from Zoro’s view. He had never seen Sanji in one of the windows before, maybe had been too short before.

It was as though Sanji could hear Zoro thinking about him, before he had prepared himself enough, Sanji turned his head and locked eyes with him. Sanji’s eyes grew large, even through the window Zoro could see the deep blue locked within them. His mind hadn’t done them any justice at all when he thought about them during all those years.

In a flash, Sanji was gone out of the window, he went through what Zoro had come to learn was the back door and sprinted off the cloud to Zoro. He was faster than before, wings larger and sharper than before, the puffiness of the baby feathers almost gone. He would’ve loved to see them go down day by day.

Mist flew up around Sanji as he landed, just like before, he leaned on the edge of the cloud to look at Zoro. His eyes were glossy and widened, like he couldn’t believe Zoro was there, though he could scarcely believe it himself.

Zoro smiled a rare smile at him, one that he had grown accustomed to only show Sanji and Chopper but he didn’t need to know that small detail. When Sanji smiled back, Zoro’s grew into a smirk and so did Sanji’s, then Sanji was laughing and later was Zoro.

_“Hello Marimo.”_ Sanji signed to him, still laughing with him. How he had missed their language.

_“Hi Curly-brow.”_ Zoro signed back to him, laughter slowing down into a quiet chuckle.

They talked to each other for quite some time, sharing insults and catching up with the other. Sanji was a chef in the main kitchen now, cooking for both humans and angels. He went on and on about this new fish the others had found while on earth; something between a bird, coral and fish apparently. He said it tasted awful but that it was a step closer to All Blue, an ocean were there existed tiny portals to every dimension and every fish along with it. It was a chef’s ultimate dream, Sanji had told him.

Once Sanji started talking about All Blue, there was no stopping him. He tried to describe every fish in the children’s book he read as a child, Zoro wasn’t sure if he understood completely, there were strange types of fishes and combinations that he was signing to Zoro and it confused him to no end.

He had only viewed fish in two categories before; big fish and small fish. He liked big fish more, the ones with mixes of cow in them were pretty good, their hearts were large and there was something about their blood that made it extra smooth as it went down his throat. Now he could name which fish were from sweet waters and which were from salt waters, he could see if the fishes were poisonous or not after Sanji had scolded him for eating poisonous fish without knowing it.

To Zoro’s surprise, Sanji asked him not only about himself - how he was, if there were any new scars, about how he was eating - he also asked him about the rest of the crew. He looked genuinely concerned about them, he had never met them and he was actually worried about them. Zoro was blushing as he told Sanji they were fine, that they had a new member and that they might’ve started a little tiny war with the admirals.

Sanji was confused to say the least, he double checked, then triple checked to make sure he understood the motions Zoro just did. Then there was fire at his feet, actual fire. It wasn’t big, only at his shoes, it blew out and ignited itself again and again as Sanji moved but Zoro could tell it was something Sanji had taken a lot of time into practicing. Sanji himself was fuming with anger and frustration. He was walking around, cursing at Zoro as he did and cleaving cloud after cloud in two with his legs.

Zoro only stared with his mouth slightly agape, he had no idea that someone could form fire from anger. He was sure that it wasn’t some kind of power of Sanji’s, he was pretty sure he would’ve known if the cook could spout fire from his body before. His heart was speeding up and he could feel adrenaline pumping around as if he was about to charge towards an enemy. He knew there was no one around, Zoro always did a quick check with his haki before he settled on the mountain but it felt just the same. Instead of his eyes zooming in and focusing on the enemy, it was only Sanji he saw.

His motions slowed down under his haki, making the few unruly strands of his hair stand out and shine under the sun. His eyes almost changed color as he sharpened them and they just looked so threatening and absolutely ferocious. How come ferocity looked so pretty on Sanji? He didn't know how his skin stayed so pale when it was constantly under direct sunlight but Zoro liked the way it shone and gleamed a faint orange from the small flames growing at his feet.

Sanji was still walking around the cloud, spinning toward him to look at Zoro and tell him that it was the most idiotic thing he ever heard of. It wasn’t that stupid to be honest, it just kind of happened. It would be dangerous but they all knew that it would eventually come to that point. The admirals would come after them, the arch demons too, maybe some angel troops if it got too out of hand.

Zoro scathed the base of his horns as he waited for Sanji to calm his hysteria, trying to distract his thoughts and adrenaline as he did so. They had changed in color lately, from a dark green to forest green, only a few shades darker than his hair. It happened to most young demons who beared horns, they either got lighter or darker depending on how well they would hide them in nature. It felt good in a way, that his body was allowing him to become stronger as well as his mind.

When a small purr escaped Zoro’s throat, he slammed down his hand in the ground instantly and heat exploded in his face. He hated that part of himself, that stupid purring. It got Usopp wondering for a whole month if he was some sort of cat. Thank fuck Sanji couldn’t hear it, it would be the end of him.

Even if Sanji hadn’t heard the purr, he had seen the red on Zoro’s face and neck. He was looking around, trying to figure out what caused it, when he couldn’t find any he sat down to start cuss at Zoro that way only he could do. _“Idiot Marimo.” “Stupid, dumb moss.” “I should cook you, Marimo, though I won't since it would taste like shit.”_ he signed with angry hands.

Zoro signed back each and every time, why couldn’t they have a conversation that didn’t end with them cursing at each other? Not that it really mattered though, it was fun to rile Sanji up.

Toward the end of their meeting, Sanji kicked him down another box filled with delicious meat. His cooking skills had improved immensely, Zoro almost lost himself while eating the food, the steaks weren’t made specifically for him but they still tasted better than the ones Sanji had first given him. He almost swallowed one whole when a bird flew by, not wanting to share his food with anything. The bird cawed and turned around to fly the other way, far away from his glare.

The first few times Zoro had eaten Sanji’s food, he had enjoyed seeing the small blush on his cheeks, now there was a small, satisfied smile there instead. It made him look more confident about his food - which the damn curly should be. He knew it was good, he just waited for someone to show him how much they enjoyed it. Zoro could see Sanji’s eyes moving, he was noting everything of importance, anything that he could do better next time.

Zoro put the box behind him, making sure not to damage it further. Then he told Sanji that the meal was the worst thing he ever tasted, just to see him rise up and start screaming at him, even though he knew none of it would reach Zoro’s ears.

He told Sanji about the salt, that it was really hard to get and that it was just for him. That got him the reaction he hoped for - a heavy blush that coated every single visible patch of skin. Sanji said he would ask the chefs to bring him salt from one of the villages, then Sanji just waved and flew back to the floating fish. His face was still the same color of fire.

After that Zoro flew back to The Sunny and then took off with the big box of salt to search for a human village near The Baratie.

There were two villages below; one about as big as the island the crew was on and another smaller one. The smaller one looked nicer with all the red apples growing on the trees and lively people trading things with one another so he flew over to it to see if he could put the box somewhere close by. They would probably go to that village first. The plan didn’t work, they saw him and were frightened by his looks, running away and shielding their children from him. He flew away when they started throwing things at him.

The second village wasn't any better, they were armed with spears and arrows to throw at him instead of rocks.

After a few minutes of flying he could see a third village, there were lights shining in the windows and houses made out of red bricks. Children were playing on the roof of one house and a mother was screaming at them to come down. Zoro landed far away from it, thinking it would be smarter to walk to it this time, maybe turn on his invisibility too. He didn’t get very far before a little kid came into view and he decided to try to talk to her.

She was small, even for a human, her hair was tied into two ponytails and the sides of her round face. She looked up to him but there was no fright in her eyes, only fascination. “Are you a demon?” She asked him breathlessly, walking closer.

It was a stupid question, of course he was, couldn’t she see the horns on his head, his wings or perhaps the green hair? He still answered her ‘no’.

“Are you an angel?” she tried again, walking even closer to him.

The question made Zoro laugh. An angel? Oh how utterly innocent, how ironic and dumb.

“No, no. Definitely not.” he shook his head and placed the box down on the ground.

“Well, you're not human, or an angel or demon… So…” the girl was lost in thought, wondering what else there was. Lucky her, she didn’t know what else was out there. She smiled suddenly, running back to fetch a small box of onigiri, “Do you want some?” she asked,

Zoro quietly accepted, moving slowly to grab one for himself. He brought it to his mouth to taste, longing after the rice and the unique taste of seaweed but only tasted sweet, sugary awfulness when he took a bite. He ate it still, nearly choking at every bite. “It’s delicious.” he croaked out as he was done. He didn't have the heart to tell the girl it was horrible.

“Really?” the girl asked him, all hopeful and eyes shining with happiness.

Zoro nodded. “Yeah, uh, here. You can use this next time, okay? It’s good salt so it’ll probably be even more delicious next time. But if the angels come down you have to give it to them, got it?” he said awkwardly, hoping that the girl would buy his story. It was stupid, he knew it was, he was horrible at making up stories. If the plan didn’t work he would just have to take the salt back and try again.

“Okay!” the girl answered with a big smile. Why were humans so easily fooled? “I’m bringing it to Mama, you can have some more tomorrow, okay?” She asked him though it sounded more like a statement, like she knew he would be there the next day.

“Sure…” Zoro answered, human children were so dumb, it could’ve been poison in that salt and she would’ve been stupid enough to give it to her mother. “Hey… Uh… Don't say that I’m a demon okay?” Zoro asked her.

“But you said that you’re not a demon.” the girl said and tilted her head to the side, confused with his previous statement.

“I did, didn’t I.” Zoro should've brought Usopp, then his story would’ve made a little more sense. “Just give the box to the angels.” Zoro said and quickly escaped from the child like she was Mihawk himself. He could hear a faint ‘okay’ in the background as he flew away.

The next few days, Zoro waited impatiently to receive that one special meal Sanji would make him with the salt he gave him. The angels had taken it up with them, the little human girl had told him so the next day when he returned to her. Sanji still hadn't used it yet which got Zoro twitching and clenching his jaw. Had the hybrid man tricked him? Was there nothing special about the salt? Did it not work together with the food Sanji had?

During one of those days, Robin had confronted him about the boxes. She surprised him by telling him even she hadn't noticed they came from heaven, that Franky had a keen eye to be able to tell the boxes origin. Her nickname for him, ‘Bushido-kun’ had never sounded so dangerous as she asked him how he really discovered those boxes. He had told him the same thing he had told Franky: they fell down and he caught them. Robin just smiled her cat-like smile, raised her brows to him, “Oh?” she had asked him even though she knew everything already. she wouldn't have asked him in the way she did if she hadn't known, with that mischievous glint in her wise eyes. She was just telling him that she knew and that she wouldn't spread the word but at the same time she was there to warn him about his actions. It amazed him how much meaning she could fit into each word she uttered, scared him that he was the victim but still amazed him.

He told Sanji that Robin knew the next day. Sanji had freaked inside but the angel refused to show it on the outside. Zoro told him that he hadn't told her, reassured him that Robin wouldn't tell anyone. She was a demon who survived on gathering information but she knew better not to tell anyone unless it was necessary. Sanji had calmed down at that, told him that even if “a beautiful woman” were to do such a thing, he would forgive them. It annoyed Zoro to no end.

When Zoro saw Sanji flying above him a few days after that, he knew the salt had worked. Sanji held a box in his tiny hands, a bright grin on his lips and eyes even brighter. He was almost jumping in his place as he watched Zoro eat. The box didn't contain any normal meat, it was a heart. A cow’s by the looks of it. He didn't know how Sanji had managed the chefs to bring him a heart or how he had even figured out that Zoro ate hearts but whatever he had to do was damn worth it. The heart was just as amazing he thought it would be, if not better. The thought of Sanji giving so much thought into his cooking, more specifically how to cook for Zoro got his own heart stuttering.

He usually didn’t like anything sweet, it disturbed him in a way that he couldn’t make sense of, sweet was supposed to taste good, it was supposed to make him smile like Chopper yet he grimaced at the smell alone. The sweet from Sanji’s meal was a very rare, very good sweet. There was no sugar in the heart, if there was Zoro would’ve known in an instant. It was just from that salt, a form of savory sweetness he hadn’t known existed until the very moment he tasted it. His eyes almost rolled back into his head and he couldn't help the satisfied groan that escaped his mouth at he took a bite.

He knew Sanji hated his eating habits, the ripping and growling and fast chewing, Zoro could see it made the cook cringe. He tried to eat slowly, he really did, it was just so hard when Sanji cooked him that.

A small blush could still be seen on Sanji’s cheeks each time he ate his food, he had to look closely, it was incredibly faint, but it was still there and Zoro always felt somewhat accomplished after seeing the pink color.

If he would see the same expression from Sanji every time he gave him something, then he would bring him gifts until there was nothing left to give. The happiness radiating from Sanji made him happy too, made him want to keep the angel like that forever.

Over a month’s time, he had thirty new shiny boxes in his bedroom in Koshiro’s house. The house was now technically his but the memories he had from his time with Koshiro and Kuina was still stuck in the traditional house. He had piled the boxes up in a corner along with the many broken swords he gathered over the years - Nami said that she didn’t want them on the ship anymore, they took up too much space. Sure, they did require their space and maybe their own room if this would continue for longer - which Zoro was pretty sure that it would. He had considered giving some of it to Franky and Usopp so they could do something to it but he always discharged the thought down after seeing the footprint in one of the boxes, it was one of the two things that made Zoro absolutely certain Sanji was real and not just some strange figment of his imagination.

After the whole ordeal on Enies Lobbey, they had all gotten bounties, a nice picture taken by one of those snail things of each one of them. His first thought had been to show them to Sanji, he did actually care about them all in a strange way. When he had shown him, he regretted it instantly. The curly bastard only looked at the girls and went on and on about how pretty they were.

Nami and Robin were pretty, he knew that from all the attention they received from the men in town, there was just something missing in their soft curves and sugar sweet giggles. Zoro had come to think of curles as attractive, especially fucked up curly eyebrows, they had a certain charm in them. Maybe they were for hypnotism, Zoro did have a problem with tearing his gaze away from Sanji’s face once had started looking.

Another month went by sooner than he thought, much too soon came the dreaded conversation about Zoro leaving again. It wasn’t like the first, there wasn’t any confusion or sorrow, just a simple _“When will you come back?”_. He told him they would be gone for another ten years, maybe fifteen like the last time and that this time, Zoro would bring back a lot more than just salt.

Their meetings went on like that; Zoro came back for a few months, he gave Sanji stupid looking fish, stupid looking fruit and stupid stories about their adventures. He enjoyed the fascination in Sanji's eyes as he told him about sea kings or vented about the stupid things Luffy did.

Then Sanji would give him meat cooked just right for him, each meal more extravagant than the other, sometimes there would be a heart for him to eat. He would tell him stories about the chefs is the kitchen and the few times Sanji got to meet the customers who snuck around the back. Then Zoro would take his leave for another few years, most times the crew ended up staying for twenty years.

Sabaody had been one of those occasions. The place had been crawling with celestial dragons, those fake arch demons, and they had to take care of a few of them. Many slaves had been freed but to the price of their crew being separated.

When Zoro visited Sanji that time, he had intended on showing him the wanted poster of Brook and then head to Sabaody to meet up with the crew and save Ace. But Zoro noticed something strange. It had been there for years, that longing and attachment he felt but he always thought of it as something along the lines of nakama. The attraction he felt toward Sanji he always thought to just be because he was an angel and never really looked into it any more than the fact that he was just pretty. But _nakama_ or what he once thought of as _pretty_ didn’t fit in the way Zoro stared at Sanji while he held the swirly cigarettes Zoro had gotten him as a joke in his right hand and a lighter in his left. Sanji’s eyes were closed halfway and staring at the small flame. Zoro followed the movement of his hands as he brought the cigarette up to his slightly puckered lips, hands covering that small stubble growing on his chin. He coughed once as he inhaled, blushed and tried again, his eyes were watering from the smoke and from keeping his reaction to himself. Then he looked at Zoro, straight in the eye and smiled, soft and caring. Zoro didn’t know what word could replace ‘nakama’ with but finally, Zoro had to change ‘pretty’ to another word; Sanji was _beautiful as fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading, commenting, leaving kudos and such, it really makes my day!
> 
> If you have any questions or complaints, please tell me so I can better myself.
> 
> See you next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> Please leave a comment to let me know if you liked it, hated it, have any criticism or anything else.


End file.
